1 . Every day around the world, thousands of people with little to no scholarly training in art history walk into museums. They may or may not read notice boards that share relevant information of the artworks or artists. Imagine, before being permitted to direct their eyeballs to the art on the walls, museum visitors were required to read a 15-or 20-page introduction to each piece or each artist. How many people would go to museums if that were the case?
Yet this seems to be the expectation when it comes to reading classic literature. Classic novels typically come with 15-or 20-page introductions, which often include spoilers, assuming that readers do not come to classic books to discover, be absorbed in, and be surprised by the story world. Also, apparently, we mustn't read classics alone, without experts guiding our experiences.
However, classic literature is in a unique position to show us that we' re not alone in our pains and joys. By taking us out of our time, classic books free us to see beyond the set of beliefs we stick to and to connect human experiences that remain alive across time and place. What could be more grounding, more comforting, than seeing ourselves in the battles, longings, and pleasures that have played out across hundreds, thousands of years of human history? Our personal engagement is the first step of a longer journey of discovery that deepens our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our world. We may for example, feel for Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter though we despair of the world she lived in.
While we're letting go of things, let's stop worrying about understanding everything. We can't. It will be fun if we embrace curiosity, the pleasure of working out a mystery, and our common relationships as humans. We can feel, for example, the power of self-sacrifice in Charles Dickens'A Tale of Two Cities even when we lack full understanding of the cultural references and language.
1. Most museum goers_________.| A．lack professional art knowledge |
| B．understand the artworks well |
| C．enjoy reading notice boards |
| D．share common interest in artworks |
| A．Story writers |
| B．Readers' expectations. |
| C．Plots given away in advance |
| D．Guiding experts |
| A．Showing curiosity about the writers |
| B．Letting go of things. |
| C．Working out mysteries. |
| D．Trying to understanding everything. |
| A．We should find more fun from classics. |
| B．Classic literature benefits readers a great deal |
| C．Experts need to give readers better guidance. |
| D．Reading classics is a personal exploration. |
It was Christmas Eve 1949. I was 15 and feeling sad because there was not enough money to buy the dress I wanted. After supper, I sat by the fireplace, waiting for Pa to read the Bible. But Pa didn’t get the Bible; instead, he went outside.
Several minutes later, he shouted in the yard, “Come on, Elizabeth. Bundle up. It’s cold out.” I was upset. Not only wasn’t I getting the dress; now Pa was dragging me out in the cold. As I opened the door, a big sled(雪橇)stood before me. I unwillingly climbed up. We loaded it with wood. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder whether the horses would be able to pull it. Before we set off, Pa hurried to the kitchen and returned with a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. I felt puzzled and annoyed.
“What’s in the little sack?” I asked. “Shoes. They’re out of shoes. Little Jake had gunnysacks(黄麻袋)wrapped around his feet when I saw him digging for wood in the snow yesterday. I also brought some candy for the kids.”
We rode the two miles to the Little Jake’s place in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. Widow(寡妇)Clark, Jack’s mother, had closer neighbors than us. Why was it our concern?
We unloaded the wood and knocked on the door. Mrs. Clark opened the door. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The three children were huddled (挤在一起)underneath another blanket, sitting in front of a small fire.
Pa set the sack of flour on the table and handed her the other sack. She opened it hesitantly and took out the shoes, a pair for her and one pair for each of the children. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling as tears ran down her cheeks. She looked at Pa as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
Pa turned to me and said, “Elizabeth, go bring in enough wood to heat this place up.”
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。
I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Before we left, Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At noon that day, I drove back to my house after the performance. Just as I entered the living room, I heard a gentle sound coming from the bedroom upstairs—it was the sound of my favorite violin.
“Thief!”
I dashed upstairs. Sure enough, as expected, a boy of about 12 years old was petting my violin. The boy had messy hair and a thin face, his oversized coat seemingly filled with something. At first glance, I found a new pair of shoes missing. It seemed that he was surely a thief.
Then, I saw his eyes full of fear and despair. My anger was immediately replaced by a smile, I asked, “Are you Mr. Ram’s nephew, Michael? I’m his housekeeper. Two days ago, I heard his nephew living in the countryside will come. It must be you. You’re really like him!”
On hearing my words, the boy was first astonished, but then quickly said, “Has my uncle gone out? I think I’d better first go out for a walk and visit him again in a while.”
I nodded and asked the boy who was preparing to put down the violin, “Do you like to play the violin so much?”
“Yes, but I’m so poor that I can’t afford it,” the boy replied.
“Then, I give this violin to you.” The boy looked at me questioningly, but he picked up the violin. Going out to the living room, he suddenly saw on the wall my huge color photo I performed in the Sydney Opera House. He involuntarily trembled for a moment and ran out without looking back.
I was sure that the boy had understood what happened because no one would decorate the living room with the housekeeper’s photo.
Paragraph 1:A few years later, I was invited to be a judge at a music competition of senior high school students.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
After the competition, “Michael” ran to me, holding a violin box.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . I'd done it before, and so I had no reason to believe that this time would be any different. I was sure that when I returned home from my mission trip, as always, I'd bring back nothing more than some mud on my boots, a hole or two in my jeans and, of course, a lot of great memories.
The summer before my high school graduation, I went to West Virginia with others as volunteers to repair the homes of those in need. Arriving at our destination, my group was assigned the task of rebuilding sections of a home that had been damaged by fire. No sooner had we parked on the home's dirt driveway than we saw an excited little girl, no more than six years old, standing in the doorway of the family's temporary home. Shoeless and wearing dirty clothes and the biggest smile I'd ever seen, she yelled, "Ma, Ma, they really came! " I didn't know it then, but her name was Dakota, and four more days would pass before she’d say another word near me.
Behind Dakota was a woman in a wheelchair—her grandmother, we'd soon learn. I also discovered that my job that week would be to help change a fire—damaged dining room into a bedroom for this little girl. Grabbing our tools, we went to work. Over the following days, I noticed Dakota peeking at us every now and then as we worked. A few times. I tried talking with her, but she remained shy and distant, always flying around us like a tiny butterfly but keeping to herself.
By our fifth and final day, however, this was about to change.
Before I went to work on her home on that last morning, I spoke for a moment or two with the grandmother. I was especially pleased when she told me how much Dakota loved her new room so much, in fact, that she'd begged to sleep in it the previous night, even though it wasn't quite ready. As we talked, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before—Dakota was hiding behind her grandmother. Cautiously, she stepped into view, and I could see that just like her clothes, her face was still dirty. But no amount of soil could hide those bright blue eyes and big smile. She was simply adorable. I wanted so much to hug her, but respecting her shyness, I kept my distance.
Slowly, she began walking toward me. It wasn't until she was just inches away that I noticed the folded piece of paper in her tiny hand. Silently, she reached up and handed it to me. Once unfolded, I looked at the drawing she'd made with her broken crayons on the back of an old coloring book cover. It was of two girls—one much taller than the other—and they were holding hands. She told me it was supposed to be me and her and on the bottom of the paper were three little words that instantly broke my heart. Now almost in tears, I couldn't control myself anymore—I bent down and hugged her. She hugged me, too. And for the longest time, neither one of us could let go.
By early afternoon, we finished Dakota's bedroom, and so I gladly used the rare free time to get to know my newest friend. Sitting under a tree away from the others, we shared a few apples while she told me about her life. As I listened to her stories about the struggles she and her family went through daily, I began to realize how boring various aspects of my own life were.
I left for home early the next morning. I was returning with muddy boots and holes in my jeans. But because of Dakota, I brought back something else, too—a greater appreciation for all of the blessing of my life. I’ll never forget that barefoot little butterfly with the big smile and dirty face. I pray that she’ll never forget me either.
1. From the appearance description of the little girl, we know _______.| A．she formed a bad living habit |
| B．she hoped for a better education |
| C．she was an innocent and lovely child |
| D．she was strong and calm in the inner world |
| A．Enjoy your help. |
| B．Please don’t leave. |
| C．Help me, please. |
| D．Hug me close. |
| A．She worried about the little girl’s future. |
| B．She decided to keep helping the little girl. |
| C．She felt a greater affection for the little girl. |
| D．She got surprised at the little girl’s worthless gift. |
| A．One must learn to share life experiences. |
| B．One often wants to lead a meaningful life. |
| C．One occasionally benefits from the poverty. |
| D．One should be more grateful for the gift of life. |
5 . Life Lessons
Life is not easy when you are pursuing something worthwhile and ready to learn from the best experiences.
It takes consistent time and effort to be successful in any area. However, people usually get discouraged when it takes more time than they thought it would. At this time, people refer only to people who have already achieved what you want to be, which most people fail to do. Look at any successful person and you’ll notice one thing common in all of them. They took time to learn and mastered their skills like no one else.
Be brave to take the road less travelled. In our whole life, we always want to follow the same path that everyone suggests, do the same things everyone does, take the same career path everyone takes, wear the same clothes everyone wears, and hang out with the same people we work with.
You don’t have to live your life in a way society wants you to.
| A．You have to break the rules sometimes. |
| B．After al life lessons are always learned the hard way. |
| C．There is no elevator to success; you have to take the stairs. |
| D．The reason why we follow others is that we are scared to fail. |
| E．It always takes tests and then fails us to learn anything worthwhile. |
| F．The general rule goes that the harder you try, the greater results you get. |
| G．Many old beliefs are being performed these days and are followed blindly. |
6 . When my children were teenagers, I
Although my children are
For example, a number of years ago, I was on my way to a farewell function with several colleagues. As we were leaving the office, we
A week later, I learned that when we came across Wendy, she was returning to the office from a medical appointment
Whether it’s a family member who let me down, a friend who
| A．missed | B．lost | C．purchased | D．sold |
| A．spotted | B．carried | C．dropped | D．placed |
| A．meaningful | B．interesting | C．familiar | D．unexpected |
| A．aware | B．forgiving | C．ashamed | D．confident |
| A．workers | B．parents | C．seniors | D．adults |
| A．kitchen | B．fridge | C．bedroom | D．bathroom |
| A．dream | B．message | C．target | D．relief |
| A．bumped into | B．saw off | C．knocked down | D．dealt with |
| A．demanding | B．accepting | C．declining | D．delaying |
| A．curious | B．amazed | C．anxious | D．annoyed |
| A．convince | B．promise | C．ignore | D．invite |
| A．Reflecting | B．Counting | C．Looking | D．Concentrating |
| A．break | B．party | C．dance | D．lesson |
| A．suddenly | B．obviously | C．passively | D．naturally |
| A．discovered | B．avoided | C．caused | D．created |
| A．where | B．that | C．which | D．what |
| A．confusing | B．shocking | C．unusual | D．casual |
| A．built | B．lost | C．betrayed | D．possessed |
| A．doubted | B．evaluated | C．guided | D．ordered |
| A．take down | B．break through | C．come about | D．get rid of |
In the distant past, friends relied on each other for their survival. They hunted together and defended each other against
One evening I was going back from a supermarket. As I approached my car, I noticed one person
After several moments of
One year, a newspaper of the United States published an announcement that the horticultural institute offered a reward at a high price for the pure white marigold (金盏花). The high reward attracted so many people, but in nature besides golden, the marigold is brown, and it is not easy to grow the white one. So after they were excited for a time, many people had forgotten the announcement.
Years flew away. One normal day after 20 years, the horticultural institute that had published the announcement accidentally received a letter and 100 seeds of pure white marigold. On that day the news spread like wildfire.
It turned out to be an old woman of over 70 years old. The institute had always been hesitating over the fact that the letter said with certainty that the seeds could bloom pure white marigold, and the need for verification (验证) became the focus of the debate. Whether they would make an experimental verification or not became the controversial focus at one time.
Some said you would never live up to the old man’s wish. Those seeds finally took root in the earth. The miracle appeared after one year: large patches of pure white marigold waved in the breeze.
Accordingly, the old woman who was always unknown to the public became a new focus.
Originally, the old woman was a flower lover. When she occasionally read the announcement in the newspaper 20 years ago, she was eager to try. But her eight children strongly opposed her decision. After all, a woman who never knew the seed genetics (遗传学) couldn’t complete what the experts could never achieve, so her thought seemed very foolish.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已经为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
Still, the old woman didn’t change her mind and went on working without hesitation.
Paragraph 2:
Finally, after 20 years on the day we all know, in the garden she saw a pure white marigold.
10 . Did you know that Albert Einstein could not speak until he was four years old, and could not read until he was seven? His parents and teachers worried about his mental (大脑的) ability.
Beethoven’s music teacher said about him, “As a composer (作曲家) he is hopeless.” What if this young boy had believed it?
When Thomas Edison was a young boy, his teachers said he was so stupid that he could never learn anything. He once said, “I remember I used to never be able to get along at school. I was always at the foot of my class ... My father thought I was stupid, and I almost decided that I was a stupid person.” What if young Thomas had believed what they said about him?
When the sculptor (雕刻家) Auguste Rodin was young, he had difficulty learning to read and write. Today, we may say he had a learning disability. His father said of him, “I have an idiot (白痴) for a son.” His uncle agreed. “He’s uneducable,” he said. What if Rodin had doubted his ability?
Walt Disney was once fired by a newspaper editor because he was thought to have no “good ideas”. Enrico Caruso was told by one music teacher, “You can’t sing. You have no voice at all.” And an editor told Louisa May Alcott that she was unable to write anything that would have popular attraction.
What if these people had listened and become discouraged? Where would our world be without the music of Beethoven, the art of Rodin or the ideas of Albert Einstein and Walt Disney? As Oscar Levant once said, “It’s not what you are but what you don’t become that hurts.”
You have great potential (潜力). When you believe in all you can be, rather than all you cannot become, you will find your place on earth.
1. How many successful people are mentioned as examples in the passage?| A．Six. | B．Seven. | C．Eight. | D．Nine. |
| A．When he was young, Thomas Edison always got good grades at school. |
| B．Levant thought Louisa May Alcott couldn’t write any popular works. |
| C．Only Auguste Rodin’s uncle regarded him a boy of learning ability. |
| D．Both Enrico Caruso and Beethoven achieved their dreams in music. |
| A．He is too stupid to be taught. | B．He is very clever. |
| C．He is different. | D．He is a late success. |
| A．Working Hard for Success | B．Having Dreams |
| C．Believing in Yourself | D．Self-challenging |
