1 . The doorbell rang one mid-December evening. I frequently had unexpected visitors in those early days after my husband’s ________. But when my 6-year-old son opened the door, nobody was there. ________, on the doormat was a box, tied with a silver ________ and a note that said “On the First Day of Christmas...” A mystery.

Sam had died that fall, ________ me the single parent of our two boys, 6 and 8. My sons and I had already ________ to deal with Halloween, and Thanksgiving without Daddy. Still, I was afraid of Christmas. How could December have ________ without my husband?

The next night, the doorbell rang again. Another ________ came, decorated with the same silver ribbon (带子) and ________ the same card reading “On the Second Day of Christmas...”

For the next couple of nights, my boys waited near the front door to see who was leaving the gifts, but the bearer would always choose the moment they left to ________.

I didn’t know who the secret Santa was. But there was one thing I did know. In those dark days of ________, somebody was shining a light our way with a simple but ________ message: “You are loved.” It was such a strange feeling, to be left in darkness on the one hand and drawn so firmly toward ________ on the other. I believe hope will make a(n) ________.

After 11 days of offerings, we weren’t sure what to ________ when we approached home on that 12th night. I trusted there would be ________.

1.

A．promotion

B．death

C．retirement

D．operation

2.

A．Otherwise

B．Besides

C．Instead

D．Therefore

3.

A．rope

B．paper

C．flower

D．ribbon

4.

A．leaving

B．finding

C．naming

D．considering

5.

A．agreed

B．planned

C．managed

D．promised

6.

A．arrived

B．returned

C．ended

D．escaped

7.

A．book

B．toy

C．box

D．pet

8.

A．designing

B．including

C．showing

D．making

9.

A．get through

B．set off

C．move on

D．turn up

10.

A．regret

B．sadness

C．anger

D．disappointment

11.

A．annoying

B．funny

C．urgent

D．powerful

12.

A．dream

B．light

C．future

D．home

13.

A．difference

B．effort

C．comparison

D．contribution

14.

A．support

B．offer

C．expect

D．appreciate

15.

A．something

B．nothing

C．anything

D．everything

2 . It’s said that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at what’s on their bookshelves. What do my bookshelves say about me? Well, I’d always thought of myself as a cultured person, but my bookshelves told a rather different story.

So, in October 2011, I registered my blog, ayearofreadingtheworld.com, and posted a short appeal online. I explained how narrow my reading had been and asked anyone who cared to suggest what I read from other parts of the planet. I had no idea whether anyone would be interested, but within a few hours, people started to get in touch.

Books came from surprising sources. My Panamanian read, for example, came through a conversation I had with the Panama Canal on Twitter, which advised I try the work of the Panamanian author Juan David Morgan. I found Morgan’s website and sent him a message, asking if any of his Spanish-language novels had been translated into English. And he said nothing had been published, but he did have an unpublished translation of his novel “The Golden Horse”, and he emailed it to me.

Morgan was by no means the only wordsmith to share his work with me in this way. From Sweden to Palau, writers and translators sent me self-published books and unpublished manuscripts (手稿) of books that hadn’t been picked up by Anglophone publishers or that were no longer available, giving me privileged glimpses (初步的感受) of some remarkable imaginary worlds.

The books I read that year have opened my eyes to many things. That can be an uncomfortable experience, particularly when I’m reading a book from a culture that may have quite different values to my own. But it can also be really enlightening. Wrestling with unfamiliar ideas can help clarify my own thinking and show up blind spots in the way I might have been looking at the world.

When I looked back at much of the English-language literature I’d grown up with, I began to see how narrow a lot of it was, compared to the richness that the world has to offer. Little by little, that long list of countries that I’d started the year with changed from a rather dry, academic register of place names into living, breathing entities.

1. Why did the author create the blog “A Year of Reading the World”?

A．To learn from others’ bookshelves.

B．To broaden her cultural horizons.

C．To get recommendations from readers.

D．To find out the literary works she lacked.

2. What did the author think of the responses from writers and translators?

A．They presented a challenge to the author.

B．They blocked the author’s reading journey.

C．They offered unique access to literary worlds.

D．They inspired confidence in the author’s project.

3. How does reading diverse cultural books benefit the author?

A．Provide her with unfamiliar topics.

B．Make her absorbed in other cultures.

C．Show fields she needs to learn more about.

D．Reveal areas she lacks insight in her worldview.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Exploring the Global Literary Landscape

B．The Challenge of Reading the World

C．Uncovering Stories from Every Country

D．The Impact of Culture on the Worldview

3 . I used to believe that only words could catch the essence of the human soul. The literary works contained such distinct stories that they shaped the way we saw the world. Words were what composed the questions we sought to uncover and the answers to those questions themselves. Words were everything.

That belief changed.

In an ordinary math class, my teacher posed a simple question: What’s 0.99 rounded to the nearest whole number? Easy. When rounded to the nearest whole number, 0.99=1. Somehow, I thought even though 0.99 is only 0.01 away from 1, there’s still a 0.01 difference. That means even if two things are only a little different, they are still different, so doesn’t that make them completely different?

My teacher answered my question by presenting another equation (等式): 1= 0.9, which could also be expressed as 1=0.99999.... repeating itself without ever ending.

There was something mysterious but fascinating about the equation. The left side was unchangeable, objective: it contained a number that ended. On the right was something endless, number repeating itself limitless times. Yet, somehow, these two opposed things were connected by an equal sign.

Lying in bed, I thought about how much the equation paralleled our existence. The left side of the equation represents that sometimes life itself is so unchangeable and so clear. The concrete, whole number of the day when you were born and the day when you would die. But then there is that gap in between life and death. The right side means a time and space full of limitless possibilities, and endless opportunities into the open future.

So that’s what life is. Objective but imaginative. Unchangeable but limitless. Life is an equation with two sides that balances itsef out. Still, we can’t ever truly seem to put the perfect words to it. So possibly numbers can express ideas as eually well as words can. For now, let’s leave it at that: 1= 0.99999... and live a life like it.

1. What does the author emphasize about words in paragraph 1?

A．Their wide variety.	B．Their literary origins.
C．Their distinct sounds.	D．Their expressive power.

2. What made the author find the equation fascinating?

A．The repetition of a number.	B．The way two different numbers are equal.
C．The question the teacher raised.	D．The difference between the two numbers.

3. Which of the fllowing can replace the underlined word “paralleled” in paragraph 6?

A．Measured.

B．Composed.

C．Mirrored.

D．Influenced.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．The Perfect Equation	B．Numbers Build Equations
C．An Attractive Question	D．Words Outperform Numbers

4 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写一段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

During that hot summer, little Sammy and his sister Marie spent their vacation at their grandparents’ farm. The farm was filled with fun and adventure, but one day, an unfortunate accident occurred. While playing, Sammy accidentally shot his grandmother’s beloved pet duck with a slingshot (弹弓). Panicked, he quickly hid the duck behind a pile of old wood in the yard. He was afraid to tell his grandmother the truth, worried about being punished.

However, what he didn’t know was that his sister Marie had seen the entire event. The next day, when Grandma asked Marie to wash the dishes, Marie seized the opportunity to shift the responsibility onto Sammy. She said, “Sammy told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today, Grandma.” Sammy was shocked and confused because he had not said such a thing. Marie approached him and whispered threateningly, “Remember the duck?” It was then that Sammy realized Marie had seen his secret and was now using it to make him do the housework she didn’t want to do.

This situation continued for several days. Whenever there were household chores to be done, Marie would threaten Sammy with “Remember the duck?”. Sammy felt an increasing burden of guilt and responsibility.

注意：续写词数应为 80左右。

Finally, he couldn’t bear the secret and pressure any longer and decided to tell everything to Grandma

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . I grew up with the same group of kids from age 5 to age 12. We lived in the same community, shared the same schools and experienced all the ups and downs of that period.

Then I hit junior high and a whole new world opened up to me. It seemed everyone was there, friends from football teams and people from the summer workshop. They welcomed me, figuring that I had to be cool to know so many people. I was a different person with each new group of friends and began to distance myself from the “kindergarten group”.

However, it wasn’t long before these so-called new friends left me when they found out I really wasn’t cool enough to be there. This was one of the hardest times in my life. I felt alone and was very disappointed in myself. It was then, when I thought I had nowhere else to go, that I tried to make my way back into the “kindergarten group”. I organized a camp-out and invited them to come. I had thought they were going to be cold and exclude me as I had done to them. But they all turned up and we just picked up right where we left off. There was absolutely no hate, only comfort and an unexpected sense of belonging. They gave me room to grow and learn my own lessons, my own way, in my own time.

From them, I have learned two things: the type of friends I want, and the type of friend I want to be. We will all continue to grow separately together, all the while providing the unconditional love, understanding and support only friends like these are capable of.

1. How did the author feel about her school life according to Paragraph 2?

A．Shocked.

B．Upset.

C．Curious.

D．Happy.

2. Why did the author organize a camp-out?

A．To make more friends.

B．To get close to nature.

C．To apologize to her friends.

D．To reconnect with her old friends.

3. What does the underlined word “exclude” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Cheat.

B．Refuse.

C．Warn.

D．Attack.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．A Friend in Need.

B．My Kindergarten Group.

C．Lessons in Friendship.

D．Friends in My New School.

6 . My memories of those nights I spent with my great-grandmother are still vivid. I_________ them all, because I have_________ else to remind me of her. While my friends_________ display treasures left to them by their grandmothers — precious china, antique silver, jewelry — all that I have of her is a scarf I’d made her.

My great-grandmother didn’t have a china-and-jewelry kind of _________. While we were under the _________, she told me many _________ stories. I felt the pain a mother feels when her only son is _________ missing after a battle. I felt the _________ a wife feels as throat cancer robs her beloved _________ of speech and ultimately of life. I felt the__________ of the Depression (大萧条), what it was like to lose your home and to __________ produce that had gone bad. My great-grandmother never cried when she __________ her past, and afterward, she always said, ” Oh, kid, it’s a great life if you don’t __________.”

A few years ago, my life took a __________ turn, and curiously, I found my great-grandmother and her stories frequently occupying my __________. I realized then that __________ she had not left me any precious objects, she had left me a treasury of stories and a wealth of__________. By turning her soul inside out to me during those nights in bed, she’d given me the greatest gift — her __________, her courage to face life head-on. Her legacy (遗赠) gave me the __________ I’d lacked. If she could survive the __________ of her life, then I knew I could, too.

1.

A．remember

B．restore

C．receive

D．remark

2.

A．something

B．anything

C．everything

D．nothing

3.

A．apparently

B．curiously

C．proudly

D．instantly

4.

A．career

B．life

C．future

D．education

5.

A．pressure

B．carriers

C．covers

D．hardship

6.

A．popular

B．sad

C．scary

D．funny

7.

A．imagined

B．resisted

C．declared

D．caught

8.

A．sorrow

B．responsibility

C．annoyance

D．justice

9.

A．son

B．daughter

C．mother

D．husband

10.

A．purpose

B．hopelessness

C．competence

D．effectiveness

11.

A．pay off

B．get through

C．hang on

D．survive on

12.

A．escaped

B．related

C．transformed

D．assumed

13.

A．weaken

B．sharpen

C．understand

D．condemn

14.

A．favorable

B．careful

C．stressful

D．preventable

15.

A．mind

B．schedule

C．status

D．analysis

16.

A．if

B．when

C．since

D．although

17.

A．memories

B．resources

C．opportunities

D．alternatives

18.

A．dream

B．caution

C．criterion

D．strength

19.

A．fate

B．will

C．cash

D．identification

20.

A．aspects

B．means

C．difficulties

D．outcomes

7 . Can you imagine anyone choosing to live without money in modern society? Well， that’s exactly what Heidmemarie Schwermer has been doing since 1996 when she _______ her job and gave away all her _______.

After _______ a difficult marriage, Schwermer moved to Dortmund, Germany with her two children in the late 1980s, working as a trained _______. She was so shocked by the _______ there that she decided to open an exchange shop called “Give and Take” in 1994.   Members of this group _______ things and skills without money ever changing hands. What amazed Schwermer was not only how homeless people’s needs could be _______, but also how much the participants benefited from the _______ aspect of their communication. At the swap shop, there are possibilities for people to get to know one another and _______ with each other. This experience so deeply ________ Schwermer that she decided to quit her job and not buy anything else ________ giving something away. Eventually, she got rid of all her ________ possessions, including her apartment.

In 1996, Schwermer agreed to take part in a 12-month ________ that was made into a documentary film called Living Without Money. ________, at the end of the 12 months, she decided that living without money gave her “quality of life, inner ________ and freedom”.   As a result, Schwermer continues to live ________. She leads a nomadic (流浪的) life by ________ practical skills, such as gardening and cleaning, as well as her professional skills as a former teacher, for food and a place to live for a short period of time.

Schwermer lives a life ________ the principle that we should not take more than we need.   As Schwermer ________ it, “Possessions are not what give a person ________. I am a happy person who feels a membership to human beings and a big love for all of them.”

1.

A．lost

B．quit

C．found

D．got

2.

A．money

B．furniture

C．apartments

D．possessions

3.

A．motivating

B．gaining

C．ending

D．surviving

4.

A．teacher

B．housewife

C．cleaner

D．gardener

5.

A．homelessness

B．kindness

C．hopelessness

D．willingness

6.

A．sell

B．purchase

C．recommend

D．exchange

7.

A．finished

B．met

C．challenged

D．realized

8.

A．social

B．political

C．familiar

D．similar

9.

A．live

B．meet

C．stay

D．bond

10.

A．amused

B．confused

C．moved

D．surprised

11.

A．with

B．for

C．without

D．by

12.

A．material

B．spiritual

C．useless

D．worthless

13.

A．service

B．experiment

C．performance

D．journey

14.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Instead

D．Otherwise

15.

A．confidence

B．wealth

C．struggle

D．fear

16.

A．noise-free

B．trouble-free

C．money-free

D．house-free

17.

A．buying

B．trading

C．training

D．changing

18.

A．concentrated on

B．related to

C．based on

D．devoted to

19.

A．takes

B．makes

C．gets

D．puts

20.

A．wisdom

B．knowledge

C．ability

D．value

8 . It was years ago but I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was _______ my daughter to the nearest airport to take a trip in the morning. It was a 3 hour round trip so after _______   her off at the airport, my son and I stopped at a McDonalds to have _______ .

We took a seat and I went up to _______ our food. Most of the workers there were teenagers just going through the job, _______ the food like an assembly line. Working at the cash register, _______ was an old lady about 70 years old. She was _______ to everybody. When each person came up to give their order, she gave each person a big _______ with a few kind words. It _______ my heart to see how she ________ the whole restaurant with her good cheer. When it was my ________ I smiled back and told her that she had the sweetest smile I'd ever seen. She ________ , patted me on the hand and said, “No extra ________ , Sweetie!”

When I was driving home I could still feel her ________ in my heart. She made me realize that it is ________ how we work so hard to buy things but the things we want most can't be ________ . They are freely given and ________   received. Love, smile, joy and ________ are all free of charge. They are the ________ we give each other. May we always ________ the delight in them.

1.

A．inviting

B．driving

C．requiring

D．persuading

2.

A．taking

B．dropping

C．putting

D．paying

3.

A．lunch

B．breakfast

C．sport

D．fun

4.

A．order

B．pack

C．prepare

D．enjoy

5.

A．choosing

B．selling

C．serving

D．cooking

6.

A．therefore

B．otherwise

C．anyhow

D．however

7.

A．rude

B．honest

C．friendly

D．grateful

8.

A．reward

B．treat

C．note

D．smile

9.

A．hurt

B．persuaded

C．warmed

D．warned

10.

A．brightened up

B．calmed down

C．showed off

D．turned around

11.

A．duty

B．business

C．honor

D．turn

12.

A．laughed

B．contradicted

C．apologized

D．complained

13.

A．chance

B．charge

C．change

D．time

14.

A．generosity

B．anxiety

C．curiosity

D．kindness

15.

A．impossible

B．necessary

C．funny

D．natural

16.

A．borrowed

B．bought

C．introduced

D．returned

17.

A．joyfully

B．quietly

C．casually

D．regularly

18.

A．operation

B．collection

C．connection

D．conversation

19.

A．memories

B．gifts

C．changes

D．lessons

20.

A．avoid

B．trust

C．cover

D．share

9 . I was driving when my phone alerted me to a new email. Filled with eager anticipation, I pulled over, turned on my hazard lights, and opened it. My emotions quickly changed as I learned, for the sixth and final time, that I had been denied a promotion to full professor. My institution didn’t seem to value what I brought to the table. But when I told my family that night, my children offered a surprisingly positive response. They were excited to see what I was going to do next, they said. They apparently knew long before I did that losing my bid for a promotion would turn out to be the best thing that could have happened for me.

This had been the final step in a long process spanning 15 months and involving so much effort. I had started by studying successful promotion bids and asking senior scholars for frank discussions about my readiness. I had carefully prepared my application packet, summarizing everything I had achieved in my career. For more than a year, I had spent hours every day trying to prove my worth to my university.

To my surprise, having a final answer brought a welcome sense of closure. As a first step toward healing, I decided to prioritize my own values and follow my own internal compass. I disconnected from people in my life who violated my values, cultivated my relationships with those who share my priorities and bring out the best in me, and spent more time with my family. I founded a nonprofit that helps first-generation and low-income students and young professionals advance in the workforce while serving their community. The initiative had long been a dream of mine, but I never pursued it because typical academic hiring and promotion don’t reward such efforts. Now, such considerations were no longer my North Star.

Five months after that email from top leadership, I found myself in the car again, experiencing another career-defining moment. I may have lost my bid for a big promotion, but in the end, it brought me to the right place.

1. What did the author feel after he read the email?

A．Anxious and annoyed.	B．Embarrassed and ashamed.
C．Relieved and peaceful.	D．Disappointed and sorrowful.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．What contributions the writer had made.	B．What preparations the writer had made.
C．How successful the career had been.	D．How tiring the process had been.

3. Which of the following would the writer probably agree with?

A．Success is more than a title or a rank.

B．One’s internal compass is to be developed.

C．Serving the community may heal a broken heart.

D．One’s real value first lies in his family interaction.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Emails: my North Star

B．Full professor: a double-edged sword

C．A career setback becomes a great opportunity

D．An academic career witnesses a failed promotion

10 . Once there was a boy named Alfred, who was extremely bright, but also had a very bad temper. One day at school, when having a craft class, his partner _________ crushed a small part of their handiwork. He immediately got angry, criticizing her. After hearing those _________ words, she started to cry _________. Before long, the girl began shutting herself away. and never talked with Alfred.

Alfred’s parents became concerned about his _________ flaw (缺陷) , and thought about what they should do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a _________ with his son. He gave him a bag of nails and a big hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he told Alfred, “ I want you to really _________ your anger by driving a nail into the oak _________ of that old fence.”

Those _________ oak boards were almost as tough as iron, and the hammer was heavy. _________, by the end of the first week, Alfred had driven 37 nails into the fence. So __________ was hitting the nail that Alfred __________ began to control his temper! Day by day, the number of nails__________ into the fence decreased. Finally the day came when Alfred didn’t lose his temper at all. He felt__________ as he told his father.

To show him what __________ in the fence, his father told him to pull out one nail each time he controlled his temper. Strange __________ he felt about the instruction, he followed the advice. Finally Alfred reported with huge pride that all the nails were __________. At that point, the father asked his son to take one more look. “You have done well, but notice the __________ left. This fence will never be the same. Saving or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same result. There will be a __________ forever.”

Embarrassed and ashamed, Alfred __________ his head . This was a valuable lesson constantly reminding him of the __________ of words and the need to treat people with respect.

1.

A．intentionally

B．ridiculously

C．unluckily

D．accidentally

2.

A．meaningless

B．hurtful

C．serious

D．hateful

3.

A．uncontrollably

B．fiercely

C．dangerously

D．temporarily

4.

A．human

B．personality

C．quantity

D．identity

5.

A．balance

B．fire

C．lesson

D．bargain

6.

A．let go

B．take in

C．let out

D．give up

7.

A．boards

B．trees

C．tables

D．walls

8.

A．rotten

B．deserted

C．weathered

D．twisted

9.

A．Instead

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Moreover

10.

A．amazing

B．easy

C．rewarding

D．demanding

11.

A．gradually

B．immediately

C．regularly

D．disappointedly

12.

A．poured

B．hammered

C．inserted

D．pulled

13.

A．shy

B．proud

C．anxious

D．conscious

14.

A．left

B．kept

C．remained

D．contained

15.

A．although

B．because

C．since

D．as

16.

A．lost

B．missing

C．messy

D．gone

17.

A．caves

B．impression

C．holes

D．pain

18.

A．scar

B．memory

C．remark

D．proof

19.

A．cut

B．hung

C．shook

D．tapped

20.

A．importance

B．energy

C．power

D．usage