It was a few years ago. A friend sent me a restaurant gift card for Christmas and I picked a pretty, sunny Sunday afternoon to use it. It felt good taking my two grown sons and daughter to a nice sit-down restaurant instead of the fast food places we usually ate at. The meal was delicious and we all had a good time. When the waitress brought the check, I looked down at it. The gift card covered almost all of it. I reached into my wallet to get enough cash to cover the rest. I saw two bills in my wallet. The first would cover the rest of the bill and give the waitress a nice tip. The second bill was much larger, so I reached down to pick out the first one.
At that moment, my mind flashed back to 30 years ago. I was working as a waiter in a restaurant much like the one we were in now. It was long hours of hard work for low pay. I went home just only making enough to feed my young family. I also remembered how more than once I saw the waitresses counting their meager tips while worrying about how they were going to pay the rent and buy their kids things they needed. I remembered the pain in their eyes and sadness in their faces at the end of the day.
I blinked (眨眼) and was back in the present again. My fingers touched the smaller bill in my wallet. I smiled, pushed it back down, and picked out the much larger bill. I folded it around the gift card and covered both of them with the check. As we all got up from the table, I handed them to the hard-working waitress. “You keep the change,” I said with a smile and a happy heart.
We are all one family in this world. We live together, laugh together, and suffer together. Do your best to be a good person and love others. Replace the suffering with joy.
1. Why did the author initially want to use the first bill to pay? (no more than 15 words)2. How do you understand the underlined word in Paragraph 2? (no more than 5 words)
3. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about? (no more than 10 words)
4. Which word would you use to describe the author’s personality or character? (1 word)
5. What can you learn from the story? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
2 . In the crowded hallways of high school, Edward, towering at 6 feet 5 inches, stood out. Yet, despite his
One evening, while
Edward’s eyes were filled with sadness, his clothes appeared
In that moment. Harriet perceived（察觉到）
Those words
This story clearly exemplifies（例证）how powerful language can be in our lives. It vividly shows how words can
| A．length | B．width | C．height | D．depth |
| A．by himself | B．for himself | C．of himself | D．to himself |
| A．position | B．decoration | C．accommodation | D．encouragement |
| A．seeing | B．counting | C．reading | D．grading |
| A．acquired | B．paused | C．delivered | D．confused |
| A．So | B．And | C．However | D．Therefore |
| A．paint | B．seek | C．head | D．design |
| A．unchanged | B．unfolded | C．uncovered | D．unlocked |
| A．history | B．power | C．goal | D．future |
| A．up to | B．more than | C．equal to | D．less than |
| A．ignored | B．struck | C．harmed | D．reminded |
| A．lit up | B．burned out | C．wound up | D．calmed down |
| A．confident | B．hungry | C．careful | D．sure |
| A．enjoy | B．remember | C．create | D．combine |
| A．challenging | B．cheering | C．questioning | D．recommending |
| A．planted | B．destroyed | C．rented | D．wasted |
| A．settled | B．replaced | C．discouraged | D．inspired |
| A．turned over | B．turned into | C．turned on | D．turned to |
| A．admit | B．cause | C．shape | D．wrap |
| A．As | B．When | C．If | D．Where |
3 . When I was 12 years old, I already knew that my teen years were going to be the worst years of my life. I was a total outsider, bullied (欺凌) at school. I felt completely alone in my small town.
But by starting to do volunteer work when I was 14, I turned my problem into a passion for helping others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel like my life had a greater purpose. The more positive energy I shared, the more kindness and appreciation I received. I realized that my purpose in life would be to reach out to people, specifically teenagers, and help them feel less alone.
Books were my true friends back then. I was so thankful that the authors wrote those books. The kindness they offered me with their books saved my life. One of my biggest dreams was to become an author so I could write books that would help other teenagers the way those books helped me.
After surviving terrible experiences at school and at home, I made a choice to take the optimistic, positive road in the next steps of my journey. My dream career, one I thought was only possible for the authors I loved, is what I am doing now. I have been a full-time author of teen novels since 2007 and am grateful for this amazing opportunity to reach out to readers every single day.
Kindness saved me when I needed help the most. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is going through. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.
1. What was the author’s life like when he was 12?| A．Boring. | B．Peaceful. | C．Unhappy. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．It made him popular in his town. | B．It helped him find the meaning of life. |
| C．It helped him understand others’ lives better. | D．It helped to shape his dream career. |
| A．He was inspired by his teacher. | B．He could pass positive energy to readers. |
| C．He wanted to share his school experiences. | D．He found he had a talent for writing. |
| A．Say “no” to bullies bravely. | B．Make positive changes in their lives. |
| C．Treat others with kindness in daily life. | D．Learn to care more about others’ feelings. |
| A．The author live alone in her small town. | B．Books can save everyone’s life. |
| C．Kindness can change someone’s life. | D．Terrible experiences would make a person feel more alone. |
4 . When things don’t seem to go right, what’s your first thought? Do you just give up or do you make a promise to try a different approach? If you give up the effort simply because you’ve run into difficulty, you’re not only giving yourself a reason to call yourself a failure, you’re also depriving (剥夺) yourself of the opportunity to learn.
Nothing in life stays the same. Everything is always in a state of change. Your ability to recognize change and make peace with it, while also finding the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions, will determine how effectively you can continue making progress toward your life goals.
Indeed, when you discover and accept your ability to be flexible, all things are possible. That’s because the realization that there are other ways to go about dealing with what happens in life and to find ways around seemingly impossible difficulties makes you stronger, more self-confident and satisfied. It also greatly improves your perception (感知) of your abilities.
Consider that overcoming difficulties is quite an achievement. When you combine that with the confidence you feel in being able to analyze and put together a workable approach or solution, you wind up with a positive outcome overall. This satisfying result adds to your motivation to solve the next item on your list, to go for another goal that may be a bit more challenging.
This ability to overcome difficulties doesn’t come about automatically, yet it is a talent you can foster. Indeed, it may seem like a losing plan, especially if you don’t see results right away. Instead of losing hope, keep on going.
Have you ever disappointed yourself despite your efforts when you’ve encountered challenges in adapting to changing circumstances? Suppose you haven’t been able to figure out a way around them or couldn’t determine a workable approach. Is this a terrible thing? Does it mean you’re certain to forever be at the end of the line when it comes to accomplishments? It’s not like that. What it does indicate, however, is that you may yet keep some unforgiving thoughts about your own abilities. You may, for example, not trust your instincts (本能) or you might not believe you’re capable enough of taking a calculated risk.
1. We can infer from the first paragraph that ______.| A．running into difficulty is a valid reason to stop trying |
| B．it’s a rare thing for people to have a good opportunity |
| C．facing challenges offers learning and growth opportunities |
| D．it’s better to give up than persist when faced with difficulty |
| A．Adapting and persisting through change to achieve goals. |
| B．Changing conditions to create new opportunities. |
| C．Accepting failure when faced with difficulties. |
| D．Giving up to avoid further complications. |
| A．Engaging in self-criticism for every perceived failure. |
| B．Missing chances to gain insights from challenging situations. |
| C．Abandoning efforts when confronted with a difficult challenge. |
| D．Conquering challenges with confidence and achieving positive results. |
| A．You may have negative thoughts about your own abilities. |
| B．You may have a strong capability for taking calculated risks. |
| C．You are likely to give up on accomplishing anything significant. |
| D．You are guaranteed to be always at the forefront of achievements. |
| A．The importance of avoiding difficulties. | B．The need to give up when facing challenges. |
| C．The benefits of staying in your comfort zone. | D．The significance of flexibility and adapting to change. |
5 . On a cold morning in May, I received a fascinating email from a high school friend. inviting me to a 10-day all-female surfing adventure in Portugal. The offer was irresistible, and I instantly knew my answer was yes.
The trip seemed simple enough. Ten women, ranging from 30 to 45 years old, all strangers, will gather on the Portuguese coast to embrace the challenge of surfing the Atlantic waves.
As a travel enthusiast, I quickly sought permission from my boss for this once-in-a- lifetime journey.
Through my 33 years, I’ve observed a common adult tendency: we often limit ourselves to refining skills we already possess. There’s a certain pride in improving our expertise, becoming increasingly knowledgeable in our chosen fields, yet unintentionally, this focus often leaves other skills undeveloped and leads to neglecting other areas of potential growth.
Two days later, I arrived in Ericeira, a charming surf town, where I met my surfing group. Despite our different personalities and backgrounds, we were all united in a persistent desire to challenge ourselves, learn, tackle and grow.
The shores at Ericeira, where the beginners learn to surf, are shallow and covered with slippery rocks. They make for softer waves but are difficult to navigate (驾驭).
Guided by our amazing coaches, together, we faced the waves. Sometimes, it poured with rain, and the waves crashed around us, but we were still out there. And with every slip and fall, words of encouragement filled the air.
Honestly, I probably spent most of my days frozen to the bone, but that didn’t matter because a new level of genuine joy and personal achievement had been unlocked.
Learning a new skill taught me the humbleness that can come from doing badly at something new, and the pride that develops when you finally manage to grasp something you’ve been working on.
While surfing might not be my calling, trying it out inspired me to take more risks in life, to step outside of my comfort zone and to never stop believing in myself. You never know what you’re capable of if you don’t go out there and try.
1. What motivated the author to join the surf trip to Portugal?| A．The opportunity to improve existing skills. |
| B．The need to reconnect with a high school friend. |
| C．The chance to undertake work duties in Portugal. |
| D．The desire to embrace a challenge and learn a new skill. |
| A．It narrows one’s abilities. | B．It is essential for career success. |
| C．It disrupts one’s work-life balance. | D．It develops creativity and exploration. |
| A．Tough but rewarding. | B．Boring and uneventful. |
| C．Difficult and frustrating. | D．Relaxing but unpredictable. |
| A．She used to lack confidence in herself. |
| B．She became more willing to take risks. |
| C．She went on to become an expert surfer. |
| D．She discovered the surfing was her true calling. |
| A．The value of pushing your limits and trying new things. |
| B．The need to seek professional training in all new skills. |
| C．The benefit of traveling with unknown companions. |
| D．The importance of being an expert in one field. |
6 . Everyone knows that the choices we make affect our future. Suppose I am an intelligent student with good marks. However, being lazy, I do badly in my examinations. I am refused entry to university and cannot find a good job. The golden future I had imagined will never be. All these are all from a bad choice!
However, your choices affect your future in a way that is a lot more complicated. This is because nearly all the choices you make affect your character. Your character is displayed through your choices, but it is also formed by them. Whenever you make a choice, your character changes or grows, or diminishes (降低, 减弱) depending on whether the decision you made is wise or foolish. Your character is being made by you, bit by bit, choice by choice. And so, you become the sort of person who will make a certain kind of choice in a certain situation.
Some will argue this is not true. After all, the field of human choice is a narrow one. Most of the things that form us in our lives are not subject to choice. We cannot choose when and where to be born, whether our families will be rich or poor, kind or cruel. We cannot even entirely control who we will meet in our lives. With so much that we cannot choose, how can we be said to be responsible for anything?
There is some truth in this. We are thrown into life without any say over the matter, and have little control over most of it. However, we do have some power of choice, and we do control the most important thing of all: how we respond to circumstances. We can choose to keep struggling in hard times, or to give up.
This ability to choose how we behave and respond is a great gift. It is our key to having confidence in the future. It is human nature to fear the future, as the future is unknown. You cannot entirely control what will happen to you tomorrow. But if you have confidence in your character, formed by years of making good choices, then you do know one thing for certain about the future: no matter what happens, you will make a choice that you will be proud of.
At every moment, then, practise forming your character when you make your choices, no matter how small they are. Remember: your choices form your character. And your character determines your future.
1. With the example in paragraph1, the author intends to show that ________.| A．a good choice of job is a guarantee of one’s bright future |
| B．intelligent people always tend to be somewhat lazy |
| C．a bad choice of being lazy may affect one’s life bit by bit |
| D．a golden future will never be if one is refused by university |
| A．your future is solely determined by a certain choice |
| B．your choices and character shape each other, finally influencing the future |
| C．your future can only be formed if the choices are right |
| D．your character is always changing and so is your future |
| A．not chosen as a subject to learn | B．not based on your choices |
| C．not depended on your future | D．not affected by your pleasure |
| A．It guarantees you to have confidence in the future. |
| B．It ensures complete control over one’s future life. |
| C．It eliminates your fear of the unknown future. |
| D．It provides you a favorable future as expected. |
| A．Choose to be a brave man with nothing to fear of. |
| B．Choose to be a hardworking man to get a bright future. |
| C．Choose to have a positive response to the unknown future. |
| D．Choose to have a determined mind to keep struggling. |
I had just finished my dance class, and it was a disaster: I started on the wrong foot and couldn’t get the steps that other students seemed to do easily. I began to doubt my talent for ballet.
Just then, my big sister Julissa arrived. She took one look at me and asked, “What’s wrong Lakeisha?”
“Nothing,” I said quietly. I was too shy to be perfectly frank with my sister.
“Uh huh,” Julissa replied. “Looks like a bad ‘nothing’ to me, so tell me what happened.”
“Well,” I mumbled (咕哝), “maybe I shouldn’t be taking dance classes? It felt like I was the only one who couldn’t land her pirouettes (单脚尖旋转) today.”
“Listen,” she said, “not every day is a great one, and not everything you try is going to work out the way you want. The point is to keep trying. Remember that and you’ll be fine.”
“I tried my best, but…” I replied.
Looking at me seriously, Julissa said, “Maybe ballet is not your thing, but dance is. I see how beautifully you shake and move all the time. There are all kinds of ways to dance, so maybe you just need to find your own style. Why not stick to jazz dance? You are so good at it.”
I thought about her words and my performances carefully. Yes, why had I never thought of that? I wanted to be a ballet dancer, but it may not be a good choice for me. It seemed as if I suddenly saw the light
“You’re right,” I replied. “Thank you. I’m so lucky to have you to guide me!”
1. What did Lakeisha think of her dance class? (no more than 5 words)2. Why didn’t Lakeisha show her true feelings at first? (no more than 5 words)
3. How do you understand the underlined part in paragraph 8? (no more than 10 words)
4. What advice from Julissa made Lakeisha happy in the end? (no more than 10 words)
5. What is your understanding of finding one’s style? Please explain. (no more than 25 words)
8 . My knees started shaking, yet my body froze. It felt as though my soul left my body and I had no
Tears filled my eyes. Just then, a group of students
Noticing my
I just shook my head and
After almost a year of
| A．sight | B．control | C．memory | D．record |
| A．angrily | B．indifferently | C．aimlessly | D．anxiously |
| A．unsure | B．unnecessary | C．unable | D．unwilling |
| A．crowded | B．pretended | C．hesitated | D．announced |
| A．regrets | B．confusion | C．sadness | D．excitement |
| A．talk | B．forget | C．worry | D．argue |
| A．heavily | B．bravely | C．quickly | D．smoothly |
| A．open | B．wild | C．blank | D．clear |
| A．irregular | B．unsuitable | C．irresponsible | D．unusual |
| A．treated | B．locked | C．relaxed | D．comforted |
| A．making sense | B．showing off | C．coming over | D．turning back |
| A．excuse | B．account | C．spot | D．comment |
| A．quit | B．earn | C．hide | D．share |
| A．museum | B．library | C．supermarket | D．gym |
| A．stuck to | B．focused on | C．cared about | D．admitted to |
| A．waiting | B．planning | C．practicing | D．learning |
| A．Regardless of | B．Thanks to | C．Apart from | D．According to |
| A．health | B．toughness | C．attitude | D．weakness |
| A．courage | B．patience | C．effort | D．confidence |
| A．shake | B．agree | C．fix | D．deal |
9 . One freezing morning last February, I walked through Ontario Place. Trees were frosted sculptures. Large chunks of ice floated in the lake. Then I saw a group of people in bathing suits bouncing up and down in the water. They held hands, shouting and yelling into the sky. They looked and sounded so free.
I’ve always found cold water thrilling. The shock of it is like pressing a switch. It seems to reset my body and soul.
And last winter, I definitely needed a reset. I woke up most mornings with a dull, grey feeling as I forced myself out of bed to start the day. I needed something to cheer myself up, but I didn’t know what, until that day.
The ice warriors (勇士) emerged from the lake, their skin steaming. Trembling, they were yet laughing and hugging each other. I called out: “You guys are awesome!” One woman waved back, “Come and join us! We’ re here every Monday morning.”
The night before my first dip (游泳), I was excited and nervous. Cold water was one thing, but this icy lake was a whole other level. Should I back out? Eventually, I got up in the dark and drove to the meeting spot.
After some wild warm up, I charged into the lake along with others. We yelled into the sky. Teeth chattering heart rates slowing, fingers and toes going numb (麻木), we stayed there for somewhere between two and five minutes. Knowing it was my first time, people cheered me on. It felt amazing. I was stupid with cold, but I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so happy.
Now I go dipping almost every day, and I’ve come to long for that moment when the cold becomes a second skin and my internal voice goes silent. Apart from the thrill of those first heart-stopping dives, which, ironically, saved me from going under, what has drawn me is this community of generous, open-hearted souls.
We laughed together, often, but from the stories we’ve shared about ourselves, I know I’m not the only one who faces life’s challenges. Holding hands in the freezing lake, we looked out for each other last winter and will do so through this one.
It won’t fix everything in our lives—but for some reason, it helps. At the end of each session I return home feeling stronger, lighter, more able to carry on. As another winter sets in, I’m more than ready to embrace the cold again.
1. When the author saw the people in the lake, her feeling can be best described as __________| A．nervous | B．amazed |
| C．frightened | D．calm |
| A．To expand her social circle. | B．To lift her spirits again. |
| C．To adapt to the cold weather. | D．To prepare for a new career |
| A．She hesitated a bit before going. |
| B．She suffered from a heart problem. |
| C．She stayed in cold water too long. |
| D．She regretted not doing enough warm up. |
| A．She is more intelligent. |
| B．She gets more competitive. |
| C．She becomes a better storyteller. |
| D．She regains her inner peace. |
| A．Severe cold builds up character |
| B．Group wisdom brightens our life. |
| C．Tackling the odds together cures. |
| D．Doing sports promotes friendship. |
10 . Many years ago, I bumped into an old friend of mine. He had devoted his life to acting but had never been quite successful. In his middle age, he seemed defeated and sad.
I thought of his dogged perseverance. Was it smart or foolish? What could he have achieved? Had he quit his dream of acting and moved on? Our culture does not look kindly upon quitting. Failure is perfectly acceptable as long as it eventually results in success.
We chant “Winners never quit” and “If at first you don’t succeed, try again.” We lap up stories of persistence, of the author who submitted stories for years before her novels were published or of the athlete who trained since childhood to win gold at the Olympics.
Persistence pays off when it is rewarded with success, but it does not reward every person. For every JK Rowling, there are thousands of aspiring writers who will never get published. For every Olympic athlete, there are innumerable others who trained every day of their lives and never made the cut.
We all agree that doing the same things and expecting a different result is unwise. So why do we believe that persevering through failure after failure is a good idea? We consider quitting in the face of failure to be weak. We believe that perseverance is the key to success. Perseverance is only one part of success. You need talent or skill, as well as passion and drive. Luck and timing are also key to any great success.
Our society believes that anything is possible, as long as you “believe”. But not everyone can make it. Quitting when you’ re not ahead is sometimes the smartest thing to do. Obviously, if you enjoy a pursuit, regardless of its outcome, you should continue. If you knew your novel would never be published, would you want to write? If you could never be a champion swimmer, would you still train? Sometimes, it is wise to put your energy into something else.
Failure is not always the path to success. Sometimes, failure is the door to something new.
1. What do we know about the author’s old friend?| A．He was dissatisfied with his acting performance. |
| B．He switched his dream of acting to something else. |
| C．He failed in acting because of a lack of persistence. |
| D．He failed in all attempts to become a successful actor. |
| A．explain how she achieved success in writing |
| B．show that success doesn’t happen to everyone |
| C．prove that success favors those who are perseverant |
| D．encourage readers to pursue their dream until they succeed |
| A．Held on to their dreams. |
| B．Met the required standard. |
| C．Improved their performances. |
| D．Promised to be good players. |
| A．Make an effort to try new things. |
| B．Stick to your goal until we succeed. |
| C．Wait for the right time and good luck. |
| D．Ask friends or family members for help. |
| A．Stick to your dream--anything is possible |
| B．Perseverance: the secret to success |
| C．Flexibility vs. Perseverance |
| D．Perseverance-the only access to success? |
