1 . I still remember that busy autumn evening as I hurried with my eldest daughter, Athena, to get to her classroom on time for the parent-teacher night. We walked in and all eyes were on me. A few adults quickly quieted their kids’ whispers. A classmate yelled to my daughter, “What’s wrong with your mom’s face?” Shocked, I started to explain my condition, but my six-year-old daughter looked at him and said, “It’s my mom’s birthmark! Don’t be rude!” I was extremely proud of how she handled that situation.
I was quite young when I realized I looked different because of my large facial birthmark. I always thought I would be alone because of it. Being compared to Batman’s evil Two-Face made me believe I could never find love. But I was lucky enough to meet my husband, who saw me for who I am inside. When I had my first daughter, I was overjoyed, but I began to worry if the world would judge my children. I always worried I might pass my condition onto my children; I didn’t want them to grow up feeling judged. Unfortunately, my facial difference has impacted my children. My daughters get disinvited from birthday parties or sleepovers, or I learn certain kids are no longer friends with mine after their parents saw me at school.
When my kids were young, I explained how my special purple skin was rare and we talked about acceptance and never judging others on how they look. When my girls kiss my purple-skinned cheek, I feel “normal” around them and their unconditional love. With time going by, both my daughters have become my strongest supporters. Thanks to them, I’ve begun to feel more self-confident as I try to be a good role model.
Their worldviews are similar to mine. We see the world a little differently and with a kinder, more accepting heart. As the saying goes, your daughters will grow up to be your best friends. I know that will be the case for me!
1. What happened when the author went to attend the parent-teacher night?| A．Athena was praised by others for her bravery and optimism. |
| B．Athena defended her mother against her classmate’s rudeness. |
| C．Some parents criticized their kids because of their misbehaviour. |
| D．The author felt shocked at her daughter’s response to her classmate. |
| A．Friendship needs to be watered by love. |
| B．We should treat our children as best friends. |
| C．We should accept other people’s differences. |
| D．Our ability to handle difficulties can be developed. |
| A．They have to drop out of school. |
| B．They have the same physical condition as me. |
| C．They have difficulty maintaining friendships. |
| D．They feel worried because they are often judged. |
| A．A birthmark to live with. | B．My strongest supporters. |
| C．A kind and accepting heart. | D．The confidence to be different. |
2 . I was a shy girl. I didn’t even like to answer the telephone for fear I’d have to talk to somebody I didn’t know. I enjoyed the loneliness of exploring nature. However, at school I had to spend all day in the company of others. My escape was reading. I spend a lot of time studying and was rewarded with good grades. My only failure was Spanish — I’d get all As on my written work and tests, but Ds and Fs on the spoken part.
Eventually I went to college. During my third year of college, I had enough of being shy and determined to change my outlook and behavior. One day while at school, I noticed an advertisement for positions on the local classical music radio station. I had grown up listening to classical music, and I could easily pronounce names such as Tchaikovsky, Albinoni, and Chopin.
I had absolutely no background in radio, and absolutely no hope of getting the job. The idea of talking to thousands of listeners in “radio land” terrified me. However, I luckily survived the interview. I was given brief descriptions of symphonies (交响乐) and a public service announcement to read, and a list of composers’ names to pronounce. It wasn’t hard for me. I left the recording session (录音时段) with a sense of relief and a sense of accomplishment. About two weeks later I actually landed the job. It was a challenging job, but I grew to enjoy it greatly. I began to feel comfortable talking to people.
Although I now spend many hours each week talking with people, I’m still basically a quiet person. Perhaps it is my soft voice and my quiet nature that helps draw people out as they respond to my questions as I interview them. My former shyness is a fortune, as I can relate to people who feel discomfortable when they talk to newspaper reporters. I still enjoy moments of loneliness and the peace found in nature. But I’m also glad I decided to make a change in my life that has opened many doors and opportunities that I never knew existed.
1. What do we learn about the author?| A．She didn’t like reading. | B．She enjoyed shyness in nature. |
| C．She wasn’t interested in music. | D．She didn’t work hard enough. |
| A．Very excited. | B．Pretty confident. |
| C．Highly confused. | D．Extremely anxious. |
| A．It makes others feel less comfortable. | B．It is beneficial for her challenging job. |
| C．It prevents her being a newspaper reporter. | D．It draws a negative response from audiences. |
| A．desire to find her true self | B．feeling about being a radio hostess |
| C．story of exploring the meaning of life | D．experience and feeling of overcoming shyness |
3 . Way back in 1953, high school mathematics looked like a big problem for me and several of my classmates. When we reached the 9th grade, we got Mr.Iyer, the strict math teacher who was also our class teacher. He always stuck to his discipline. We had to arrive on time, pay attention to his lectures, and never neglect (忽视) any of his homework.
As he was our class teacher, we got to know him better. Noticing some of us were fidgety one day as the midterm exams approached, he stopped solving a mathematical problem to ask us why. “There’s too much to do,” we sighed. “We’re afraid we’ll never manage to finish our review before the exams.”
“Nothing is impossible,” Mr.Iyer told us. “This classroom is on the second floor. Do you have trouble reaching here?”
We reacted with blank (茫然的) eyes.
“No, you don’t!” he said, answering his own question. “You have a staircase to help you climb up to this level. No one expects you to make it in two giant leaps. You simply take one step at a time. Any task can be solved if you focus on the next action to be taken. The rest will take care of itself, if you keep at it. One step at a time. That’s the secret.”
Then he wrote down an old motto on the blackboard: “The longest journey starts with a single step.” Having heard his staircase analogy (比拟), we saw him in a new light.
Most of my classmates scored distinctions (优等评分) in math. And I went on to become an English teacher. To this day, whenever I pass on Mr. Iyer’s invaluable advice to my own students, they brighten up at the sight of a lighter academic burden.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．Math was difficult for most of the author’s classmates. |
| B．The students thought Mr.Iyer was not a good teacher. |
| C．Mr.Iyer was serious about his job and strict with the students. |
| D．Mr.Iyer would punish the students neglecting his discipline. |
| A．Hard-working. | B．Nervous. | C．Excited. | D．Calm. |
| A．They thought reaching the second floor had no connection with the worry. |
| B．They were too tired to understand any words Mr.Iyer said in class. |
| C．They were surprised that Mr.Iyer would talk about such an unbelievable problem. |
| D．They had no interest in any subjects that were no good for their exams. |
| A．one can reach his goals very easily |
| B．the goals can be reached step by step |
| C．there is only one step between success and failure |
| D．tasks can be achieved with the help of the teacher |
4 . Sixteen years ago, I learned an important life lesson in the back of a New York City taxi.
I was on my way to Grand Central Station, and we were driving in the right lane when a black car suddenly sped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My driver fit the brakes hard, skidded, and missed the other car by a few inches. The driver of the other car, the man who had just nearly caused a huge accident, started shouting at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at him. He was really friendly!
“Why did you just do that?” I asked him. “This guy almost destroyed your car and could have sent us to the hospital!”
This was when my taxi driver told me what I now call “the Law of Garbage Trucks”.
“Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of anger, and full of disappointment,” he said. “As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it, and if you let them do, they’ll dump it on you. So when someone wants to dump on you, just smile, wave, wish them will, and move on. You’ll be happier because of what you have done.”
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and dump it on other people—at work, at home, or on the street? It was on that day that I said, “I’m not going to dump anymore.”
1. What happened when the writer was taking a taxi?| A．He saw a car accident. | B．Someone destroyed the taxi. |
| C．The taxi driver was injured. | D．Another car almost hit the taxi. |
| A．He shouted back at the driver. |
| B．He sent the driver to the hospital. |
| C．He was friendly towards the driver. |
| D．He dumped some garbage in front of his car. |
| A．Many people like to drive garbage trucks. |
| B．Many people dump garbage wherever they like. |
| C．Many people are warm-hearted and make others happy. |
| D．Many people need to dump their feelings now and then. |
| A．Dump your garbage on him or her, too. |
| B．Be friendly and go on with your own work. |
| C．Tell them to dump their garbage in the right place. |
| D．Try your best to encourage them not to do that again. |
5 . There once lived a young man who thought himself to be poor. One day he went to a wise man to ask how to become rich. The wise man said, “Young man, you are already rich now.”
“But where is my wealth(财富)?” the young man asked.
“It is with you. Your eyes are your wealth. You use them to see this world. You use them to see all the beautiful things in this world. Your hands are your wealth. You can use them to work. You can use them to hug your beloved ones. Your legs are your wealth. You can go to any place...” the wise man said.
“You call these wealth? But everyone has them,” the young man said.
“These are wealth. What you have now is not what someone else can luckily have. Would you like to give your eyes to me? I'd like to give you a lot of money to exchange for them,” the wise man said.
“No, I'm not going to do so! My eyes are important to me!” the young man said.
Everyone is rich. We should treasure(珍惜)our wealth, and take care of it. We should not overuse it because once it is gone, it is gone forever. Remember it is our wealth that we do not want to lose.
1. Why did the young man go to visit the wise man?| A．Because he was ill. |
| B．Because he was the wise man's friend. |
| C．Because he wanted to know how to be rich. |
| D．Because he wanted to be wise. |
| A．was rich | B．was poor |
| C．was wise | D．was silly |
| A．the young man's money | B．the young man's eyes and feet |
| C．the young man’s buildings | D．the young man’s cars |
| A．he was rich |
| B．he didn’t like the old man |
| C．he thought his eyes were important to him |
| D．he didn’t like money |
