2 . My daughter and I were swimming in our pool one summer day. This day was like any of the other days, so I had no way of knowing that this one would go down in our family history as a________we cherish(珍惜)and still________from time to time.  

The sun was setting and the night was________approaching. My daughter________it first—a spider was spinning(纺织) her web at the bottom of the freshly painted blue fence(篱笆)that________our pool. It surprised me that she saw this, and it surprised me even more that she wasn’t________of the spider.  

Instead, she________watched as the spider busied herself in the cycle of life. As we both watched this wonder of nature, a very simple thought________me. I had lost the track of________. I honestly didn’t know how long we had been just staying there and________that spider making her web. But, regardless of whatever amount of time had passed, the truth was that we were________having fun.  

What we had done was to spend time together and________the simple things in life. We talked about how precious our________amount of time is on this planet and how we should________to enjoy the simple things in life like the flight of a bird. The simple things are the ________things in life, even when they include spiders and webs.

1.

A．memory

B．freedom

C．topic

D．fight

2.

A．hear of

B．talk about

C．argue about

D．complain of

3.

A．cautiously

B．unbelievably

C．directly

D．quickly

4.

A．remembered

B．imagined

C．watched

D．noticed

5.

A．built

B．decorated

C．surrounded

D．reached

6.

A．tired

B．afraid

C．satisfied

D．fond

7.

A．originally

B．curiously

C．humorously

D．sadly

8.

A．knocked

B．moved

C．hit

D．hurt

9.

A．event

B．data

C．spider

D．time

10.

A．winding up

B．picking up

C．pointing at

D．staring at

11.

A．normally

B．simply

C．slightly

D．independently

12.

A．figure

B．appreciate

C．handle

D．discuss

13.

A．limited

B．former

C．extra

D．distant

14.

A．forget

B．want

C．stop

D．choose

15.

A．unusual

B．best

C．easiest

D．rare

5 . We might choose a career based on the opportunities for travel, but when we reach the future and know more and better years later, we will look back and regret all our time spent far away from home. As almost every choice has a certain bad aspect or another, both a choice and its opposite can each have disadvantages that can make us seem obviously regrettable. Regret is unavoidable for almost all of us, but we should not ignore it. For regret has something to teach us, the avoidance of regret may be a good goal itself—even if it is a goal that we can never reach.

To understand why, it is helpful to look at psychological(心理学的) studies of the conditions under which we actually feel regret. Among them, two of the results are especially noticeable.

The first is the difference between action and inaction. In the short run, we tend to regret the things we do. This is the uncomfortable feeling we get immediately after realising we have chosen to leave from a wrong place or made a careless comment. But, in the long term, it is the things that we don’t do that we most regret. At the top of our most common regrets are not having the advantage of a higher education and not spending enough time with friends and family. It is our inactions, rather than our actions, that we most regret.

The second is that our regrets arise most often from the difference between our actual and future selves. Regret tends to be driven by our failures to live up to our own ambition. It is our own expectations for ourselves that are the most important sources of regret.

The advice to avoid regret is advice that we cannot fully follow. Regret is unavoidable. However, it may be a good piece of advice, for it encourages us to take action following our own goals rather than others’ expectations.

1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?

A．By telling us an interesting story.

B．By sharing a familiar life experience.

C．By using some experiment results.

D．By providing the readers with examples.

2. Why does everyone tend to experience regret according to the passage?

A．Regret is a very normal emotion.

B．Everyone wishes to forget the shameful past.

C．Any choice can have its own disadvantages.

D．Everyone tries to learn to manage regret.

3. What is the attitude of the author towards regret?

A．Objective.

B．Supportive.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Disappointed.

4. Which of the following is most likely to cause regret?

A．Allen told his secret to his best friend Jackson.

B．King quarrelled with his younger brother again.

C．Tom’s parents expected him to live in Zhengzhou.

D．Will failed his own dream of studying in Shanghai.

6 . Have you seen people who take pictures of food for more than 10 minutes before eating? How about those who beautify their selfie (自拍照片) so much that they can’t be _______?There must be one or more who _______ in your social media. No matter what they choose to share, they share the best but the most unreal.

Take my friend Chen. Every time we went to a restaurant, she would not take a _______ until all the dishes we _______ were on the table. Then, she would spend five minutes in setting the dishes in a seemingly random but in fact _______ order. Then the most important part: taking pictures. After that, she would choose one of the _______ and click in the filter (滤镜) app. The food eventually looked 10 times more delicious than it really was, but we had no _______ to really enjoy it—it all went cold. Actually Chen’s real life is much less elegant. For example, she hates to wash the dishes, so she leaves them in the sink for _______.

Many people care too much about others’ opinions and try too hard to _______ others. They find it hard to be ________ and to accept themselves, and thus they are afraid to show their real life on social media. What they are trying to prove is ________ what they lack in reality. But this will not bring any change to reality, as they still ________ the same old pattern of life.

If they really want an elegant life, they should put more ________ into achieving it. Being more confident, ________ themselves and trying their best to be better is much more meaningful than ________ their life on social media.

1.

A．envied

B．admired

C．recognised

D．defeated

2.

A．exist

B．survive

C．flood

D．spot

3.

A．bow

B．break

C．breath

D．bite

4.

A．ordered

B．served

C．offered

D．prepared

5.

A．messy

B．arranged

C．casual

D．correct

6.

A．dishes

B．restaurants

C．pictures

D．tables

7.

A．chance

B．choice

C．excuse

D．reason

8.

A．months

B．years

C．hours

D．days

9.

A．comfort

B．please

C．inspire

D．discourage

10.

A．independent

B．generous

C．responsible

D．confident

11.

A．rarely

B．hardly

C．exactly

D．nearly

12.

A．question

B．dislike

C．doubt

D．follow

13.

A．effort

B．ambitions

C．feelings

D．money

14.

A．identifying

B．accepting

C．persuading

D．amusing

15.

A．simplifying

B．ruining

C．beautifying

D．worsening

7 . A video of a tearful young man bursting with joy, pride and gratitude during his high school graduation recently went popular. Dontrail Spencer was _______ holding his diploma and screaming out the names of his teachers and family members who had _______ him along the way. They had been encouraging him to keep his eyes on the goals and to push through the _______ days. 

None of us can _______ life without encouragement — especially from a parent, best friend, school teacher or spiritual leader. Their _______ keeps us going and believing in ourselves. When someone gives you encouragement, you are given the _______ to do something important. You are made stronger. 

Even volunteers like myself _______ words of encouragement. Back in February, I was in my fifth week as a community volunteer during the pandemics (大流行病). I don’t _______ meeting Grace, a lady who had been very sick and in the hospital. But one morning I _______ an email from her: “Thank you and all involved for keeping our community and life moving forward. It makes me sad that our ________ a relationship has been so limited. I enjoy your Wednesday chorus and ________ find you inspirational. I’m ________ to be part of it. Love, Grace.” 

A few days later I received a call that she had ________. Grace was nearing the end of her life, but she took time to encourage me. Every time I read her email, I’m ________ by her words. When we encourage one another — everybody wins. Be generous in your ________. We all need it. Some now more than ever.

1.

A．noticed

B．monitored

C．filmed

D．heard

2.

A．helped

B．trained

C．warned

D．informed

3.

A．strange

B．old

C．tough

D．regular

4.

A．make use of

B．pay attention to

C．give up

D．get through

5.

A．patience

B．attention

C．service

D．support

6.

A．courage

B．task

C．money

D．advice

7.

A．prepare

B．need

C．convey

D．choose

8.

A．remember

B．succeed

C．practice

D．appreciate

9.

A．recorded

B．expected

C．evaluated

D．received

10.

A．ending

B．building

C．controlling

D．accepting

11.

A．directly

B．occasionally

C．truly

D．causally

12.

A．qualified

B．suitable

C．eager

D．grateful

13.

A．moved out

B．woken up

C．passed away

D．fallen over

14.

A．inspired

B．bothered

C．cheated

D．changed

15.

A．encouragement

B．wealth

C．sympathy

D．time

9 . Baseball was always where my heart lay. However, my father did not care for baseball. Two recreational activities he enjoyed were golfing and fishing, neither of which I considered a real sport. He didn’t talk much and he wasn’t good at expressing himself. Frankly, I wasn’t entirely certain he cared about me. In a way, my father was like a familiar stranger I saw every day.

One day, watching the play on television made me want a glove of my own. To my surprise, my father said he wanted one, too. He was on the portly side, but then again, one of the famous pitchers (投手) on the Mets was even fatter. So I thought, why not?

We bought two gloves, and that evening, he suggested we go out to the courtyard and toss (掷) the ball around. I’d already practiced catching and throwing at school, but I could tell this was the first time for my father, because every time he caught the ball, it landed directly in his palm. If you’ve ever caught a ball with a baseball glove, you know how much this hurts.

But my father caught ball after ball this way. Slap! Slap! He winced (龇牙咧嘴). After about five minutes, I told him I’d had enough. It wasn’t out of mercy, but for my own self­interest. Neighborhood kids were watching and would no doubt tease me later for having an old man who didn’t know how to properly catch a baseball. When my father took the glove off, his palm was red and swollen.

Dad, who passed away 11 years ago, never told me he loved me. But that sound of the   baseball landing in the soft flesh of his hand over and over again — it spoke its own tender language, though at the time, all I felt was shame.

1. What does the underlined word “portly” mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Experienced.	B．Cool.
C．Famous.	D．Fat.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The father didn’t hurt when catching the ball.

B．The father didn’t understand his child at all.

C．The author didn’t realise his father’s love at first.

D．The author criticised his father when playing.

3. What could be the best title for the passage?

A．A Crying Shame for Baseball

B．The Sound of Love

C．A Loving Father and His Son

D．Love That Comes Late

4. Why did the father want a glove?

A．He was interested in baseball.

B．He was impressed by the play on television.

C．He wanted to show his improvement in baseball.

D．He wanted to make the author happy.

10 . I will never forget the darkness, the pain and strong desire to die.

November arrived grey and busy, and going into an even more stressful December. I was filled with anxious thoughts.

A visit to my father’s grave is often a good chance to cry and when I leave I feel a little more at peace. But this time was different. I drove home and every night for the rest of that week, I cried.

On Saturday, I watched a TV program teaching baking, and then I started to learn. By the end of the weekend, I had a dining room table covered with sweet treats. I packaged them up in tins, attached a label to each of them with “winter love” on it, and dropped them off on a few of my neighbors’ porches (门廊) before work. It shocked me how much it lightened my mood, seeing a small package lost on a porch.

The thanks I received later from the neighbors made me light up. It felt so good, and it distracted me from my dark thoughts.

By January I had developed a routine: On Sunday I’d bake cookies and package them up, and on Monday I’d deliver them. Every week I added a few different people to my delivery route, baked a few different kinds of cookies.

Somewhere along the way things started showing up on my doorstep — a homemade cup, a pair of socks with tiny cookies and even a gift certificate from the local bookstore. Every single one melted my heart. But what I really appreciated was how people began to share their own stories of mental health with me. There is no greater honor than to be trusted with another’s life. I was overwhelmed by the love and care of my community. It humbled (使感到卑微) me that something so simple had created such incredible kindness. It reminded me that there was good in me, in my neighbors, in the world.

I was shifting into a new season of light, while letting go of a season of darkness. What had begun as an attempt to bring light into my own darkness had been transformed into a story more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed. It reminded me that there is beauty in being kind. That life is tough, but there is a quiet strength in knowing you are not alone.

1. What can we know about the author from the first three paragraphs?

A．She was in a bad physical condition.

B．She was stressed due to her father’s death.

C．She felt life was too painful to live.

D．She recovered after visiting her father’s grave.

2. After she started sharing cookies with neighbors, the author_______.

A．gained trust and care from them

B．added other things to her delivery list

C．felt her life was no longer busy or stressful

D．found some of them had more mental problems than her

3. What is the author’s attitude toward her future life?

A．Positive.	B．Cautious.
C．Doubtful.	D．Concerned.

4. What is the main purpose of this article?

A．To express gratitude to caring neighbors.

B．To speak of the benefits of baking cookies at home.

C．To share how being kind helped her regain hope.

D．To show the importance of a closely-connected community.