1 . I suddenly heard an elephant crying as though frightened. Looking down, I immediately recognized that something was wrong, and ran down to the edge of the near bank. There I saw Ma Shwe with her three-month-old calf (幼崽) struggling in the fast-rising water, and it was a life-and-death struggle. Her calf was floating and screaming with fear. Ma Shwe was as near to the far bank as she could get, holding her whole body against the rushing water, and keeping the calf pressed against her huge body. Every now and then the rushing water would sweep the calf away.
There was a sudden rise in the water and the calf was washed clean over the mother’s body and was gone. Ma Shwe turned quickly to reach it and pressed the calf with her head and trunk (象鼻) against the rocky bank. Then with a huge effort, she picked it up in her trunk and tried until she was able to place it on a narrow shelf of rock.
Just at this moment she fell back into the river. If she were carried down, it would be certain death. I knew, as well as she did, that there was one spot where she could get up the bank, but it was on the other side from where she had put her calf.
While I was wondering what I could do next, I heard the sound of a mother’s love. Ma Shwe had crossed the river and got up the bank and was making her way back as fast as she could, roaring (吼叫) all the time, but to her calf it was music.
1. The moment the author got down to the river bank he saw _______,| A．Ma Shwe was placing the calf on the rock |
| B．Ma Shwe was holding the calf against the rushing water |
| C．the calf was washed away by the rising water |
| D．the calf was about to fall into the river |
| A．By putting it on a safe spot. | B．By pressing it against her body. |
| C．By taking it away with her. | D．By carrying it on her back. |
| A．It was a musical note. | B．It was a sign of danger. |
| C．It was a call for help. | D．It was a great comfort. |
| A．A Deadly River | B．A Matter of Life and Death |
| C．A Mother’s Love | D．A Brave Act |
2 . Would you BET on the future of this man? He is 53 years old. Most of his adult life has been a losing struggle against debt and misfortune. A war injury has made his left hand stop functioning, and he has often been in prison. Driven by heaven-knows-what motives, he determines to write a book.
The book turns out to be one that has appealed to the world for more than 350 years. That former prisoner was Cervantes, and the book was Don Quixote（《堂吉诃德》）. And the story poses an interesting question: why do some people discover new vitality and creativity to the end of their days, while others go to seed long before?
We’ve all known people who run out of steam before they reach life’s halfway mark. I’m not talking about those who fail to get to the top. We can’t all get there. I’m talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have adopted the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.
Most of us, in fact, progressively narrow the variety of our lives. We succeed in our field of specialization and then become trapped in it. Nothing surprises us. We lose our sense of wonder. But, if we are willing to learn, the opportunities are everywhere.
The things we learn in maturity seldom involve information and skills. We learn to bear with the things we can’t change. We learn to avoid self-pity. We learn that however much we try to please, some people are never going to love us—an idea that troubles at first but is eventually relaxing.
With high motivation and enthusiasm, we can keep on learning. Then we will know how important it is to have meaning in our life. However, we can achieve meaning only if we have made a commitment to something larger than our own little egos(自我), whether to loved ones, to fellow humans, to work, or to some moral concept.
Many of us equate(视……等同于) “commitment” with such “caring” occupations as teaching and nursing. But doing any ordinary job as well as one can is in itself an admirable commitment. People who work toward such excellence—whether they are driving a truck, or running a store—make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They’ve learned life’s most valuable lesson.
1. The passage starts with the story of Cervantes to show that ________.| A．loss of freedom stimulates one’s creativity |
| B．age is not a barrier to achieving one’s goal |
| C．misery inspires a man to fight against his fate |
| D．disability cannot stop a man’s pursuit of success |
| A．End one’s struggle for liberty. |
| B．Waste one’s energy taking risks. |
| C．Miss the opportunity to succeed. |
| D．Lose the interest to continue learning. |
| A．Those who dare to try often get themselves trapped. |
| B．Those who tend to think back can hardly go ahead. |
| C．Opportunity favors those with a curious mind. |
| D．Opportunity awaits those with a cautious mind. |
| A．A tough man can tolerate suffering. |
| B．A wise man can live without self-pity. |
| C．A man should try to satisfy people around him. |
| D．A man should learn suitable ways to deal with life. |
| A．To provide guidance on leading a meaningful adult life. |
| B．To stress the need of shouldering responsibilities at work. |
| C．To state the importance of generating motivation for learning. |
| D．To suggest a way of pursuing excellence in our lifelong career. |
3 . I must have always known reading was very important because the first memories I have as a child deal with books. There was not one night that I don’t remember mom reading me a storybook by my bedside. I was extremely inspired by the elegant way the words sounded.
I always wanted to know what my mom was reading. Hearing mom say, “I can’t believe what’s printed in the newspaper this morning,” made me want to grab it out of her hands and read it myself. I wanted to be like my mom and know all of the things she knew. So I carried around a book, and each night, just to be like her, I would pretend to be reading.
This is how everyone learned to read. We would start off with sentences, then paragraphs, and then stories. It seemed an unending journey, but even as a six-year-old girl I realized that knowing how to read could open many doors. When mom said, “The C-A-N-D-Y is hidden on the top shelf,” I knew where the candy was. My progress in reading raised my curiosity, and I wanted to know everything. I often found myself telling my mom to drive more slowly, so that I could read all of the road signs we passed.
Most of my reading through primary, middle and high school was factual reading. I read for knowledge, and to make A’s on my tests. Occasionally, I would read a novel that was assigned, but I didn’t enjoy this type of reading. I liked facts, things that are concrete. I thought anything abstract left too much room for argument.
Yet, now that I’m growing and the world I once knew as being so simple is becoming more complex, I find myself needing a way to escape. By opening a novel, I can leave behind my burdens and enter into a wonderful and mysterious world where I am now a new character. In these worlds I can become anyone. I don’t have to write down what happened or what technique the author was using when he or she wrote this. I just read to relax.
We’re taught to read because it’s necessary for much of human understanding. Reading is a vital part of my life. Reading satisfies my desire to keep learning. And I’ve found that the possibilities that lie within books are limitless.
1. Why did the author want to grab the newspaper out of mom’s hands?| A．She wanted mom to read the news to her. |
| B．She was anxious to know what had happened. |
| C．She couldn’t wait to tear the newspaper apart. |
| D．She couldn’t help but stop mom from reading. |
| A．her unique way to locate herself |
| B．her eagerness to develop her reading ability |
| C．her effort to remind mom to obey traffic rules |
| D．her growing desire to know the world around her |
| A．It would help her update test-taking skills. |
| B．It would allow much room for free thinking. |
| C．It would provide true and objective information. |
| D．It would help shape a realistic and serious attitude to life. |
| A．explore a fantasy land |
| B．develop a passion for learning |
| C．learn about the adult community |
| D．get away from a confusing world |
| A．The Magic of Reading |
| B．The Pleasure of Reading |
| C．Growing Up with Reading |
| D．Reading Makes a Full Man |
4 . I was ready to pay for my bananas at the grocery one night, when fear seized me. My wallet was gone. I could only have left it on the G9 bus, which was now speeding in the dark to some
The
Two hours later, back at my house, I heard a knock on the door. My husband
After sharing the story online, I heard from someone, who
This one stranger responded beautifully to my small
| A．accessible | B．hidden | C．unknown | D．convenient |
| A．face-saving | B．brain-washing | C．eye-catching | D．heart-stopping |
| A．parts | B．contents | C．details | D．ingredients |
| A．ignored | B．answered | C．examined | D．interrupted |
| A．missing | B．returned | C．remaining | D．abandoned |
| A．still | B．ever | C．yet | D．even |
| A．selected | B．appointed | C．identified | D．defined |
| A．delay | B．alarm | C．regret | D．invitation |
| A．moved | B．placed | C．opened | D．spotted |
| A．disagreed | B．complained | C．calculated | D．recommended |
| A．selfless | B．risky | C．slow | D．personal |
| A．site | B．direction | C．situation | D．atmosphere |
| A．crisis | B．danger | C．threat | D．failure |
| A．got rid of | B．made use of | C．had control of | D．took possession of |
| A．if | B．where | C．how | D．when |
| A．recalled | B．exchanged | C．repeated | D．whispered |
| A．encounter | B．follow | C．consult | D．accompany |
| A．Going away | B．Turning around | C．Looking back | D．Coming along |
| A．into | B．against | C．over | D．beyond |
| A．longing | B．enthusiastic | C．concerned | D．grateful |
5 . When I graduated from high school, I wanted to major in comparative literature. But, once I found out my friends were going into “real” majors, like marketing, nursing, and engineering, I figured I needed to do the same to ensure a good career. So I changed my mind and chose Business Management as my major. I forced myself to believe that I would enjoy it and succeed in the future, but eventually I exhausted myself understanding the economy and trying new marketing techniques. Coming out of this experience, I realize it is ok to be different from others and to study things like classcs, art history and other majors offered in the College of Humanities（人文学科）!
The worries most people have about a Humanitie degree and finding a career afterwards are that the majors are too abstract, and one will not obtain any applicable skills. Actually ideas discussed in Humanities classes, which are occasionally different from what people commonly believe, offer a broad perspective（视角）. How could one effectively be an unbiased（无偏见的）writer with only a knowledge of the popular opinion of society? How could one speak persuasively ith closed minds? Only seeing the world through a single perspective leads to missed learning, missed friendships, and missed growth! With a broader perspective, we wl be more free, more open-minded, and less limited in what we can become!
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates learn actual skills in their studie, while humanities majors learn “soft skills” like communicating effectively through writing critically and speaking persuasively, synthesizing（综合）ideas through gathering and interpreting information, and developing cultural awareness. Do those soft skills sound useless and inapplicable to you? Think of it. How often do you communicate with others? Produce ideas? Encounter people from other cultures? Every day. Every SECOND of every day. So why not master these skills?
If you choose a major in the College of Humanities, you will be needed. The job market is quietly creating thousands of openings a week for people who can bring a humanist’s grace to our rapidly evolving high-tech future. Your skills will be valuable to any workplace you hope to be in. Chase after your dream major with all your energy, no matter what other people think.
1. Why did the author choose Business Management as his major at first?| A．He was tired of learning comparative literature. |
| B．He came to enjoy learning marketing techniques. |
| C．He wanted to go to the same university as his friends. |
| D．He believed Business Management was more practical. |
| A．Making more friends and learning from them. |
| B．Exchanging ideas in a philosophy seminar. |
| C．Opening your mind to future possibilities. |
| D．Getting to know the popular opinion of society. |
| A．Writing a software program. |
| B．Performing a heart operation. |
| C．Playing a musical instrument. |
| D．Negotiating with a business partner. |
| A．recovering |
| B．depressing |
| C．promising |
| D．challenging |
| A．Stick to Your Desired major |
| B．Broaden Your Perspective |
| C．How to Acquire Soft Skills |
| D．Humanities vs. STEM |
6 . An unpleasant smell floated into my nose as the bowl of fried stinky tofu（臭豆腐） settled onto my grandmother’s dinner table. I immediately sat back. The smell ruined my appetite, and I pushed the dish away.
“It’s supposed to stink. Just give it a try!” my grandmother said.
Holding my breath, I unwillingly took a bite. To my surprise, the tofu beneath the fried skin was warm, soft, and mouthwatering. Since then, whenever I visited my grandmother’s house, I would rush to the kitchen for the stinky tofu with excitement. Thus, stinky tofu became more than a household tradition. It became my favorite dish.
Along with the stinky tofu, I would meet my Uncle Chan on every visit. As an immature boy, I never understood my uncle’s condition of Down syndrome（唐氏综合征）.
He was an unfriendly and terrible creature in my eyes. He constantly walked around the house, talking to himself. Whenever he was within view, I would run away in fear.
However, one day, my view of my uncle suddenly changed. I was just getting out of my bed when I heard soft steps approaching. It was my uncle. My muscles froze. He slowly sat next to me and touched my face gently, as a mother would stroke （抚摸）a baby.
A wide smile emerged from his blank expression. How beautiful his smile was! I could not help but smile back. My fear disappeared gradually, and my muscles relaxed. For the first time, I could see softness and warmth in his eyes.
My uncle very much resembles stinky tofu. Stinky tofu smells unpleasant on the outside, yet feels warm and soft in the inside. Like stinky tofu, my uncle’s Down syndrome made me keep my distance at first. Yet, I learned that deep inside, he is harmless and has a loving nature.
Some people tend to look down upon disabled people and regard them as unfit for a regular life. As I was able to see through the outer surface of the tofu, these people are unable to see through the surface of prejudice（偏见）. As a result, they judge the disabled with one glance.
The outside and inside of the stinky tofu exist as two extremely different worlds. Perhaps that is what makes it such a tasty dish. Not only is it delicious, stinky tofu offers a valuable lesson: never judge people at first glance, for true beauty comes from the inside.
1. Why did stinky tofu become the author’s favorite dish?| A．It was related to family tradition. |
| B．It turned out to be quite delicious. |
| C．Grandma encouraged him to try it. |
| D．His appetite for food had increased. |
| A．He was a quiet person. |
| B．He was an energetic guy. |
| C．He was an immature man. |
| D．He was a strange creature. |
| A．Chan’s footsteps woke up the author |
| B．Chan showed his friendliness to the author |
| C．Chan displayed his love towards his mother |
| D．Chan’s blank expression made the author smile |
| A．highlight the nature of Uncle Chan |
| B．analyze the family relationship |
| C．describe a childhood memory |
| D．introduce a traditional Chinese food |
| A．We shouldn’t judge by appearances. |
| B．A person’s taste changes over time. |
| C．Blood is thicker than water. |
| D．You are what you eat. |
7 . If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner and say, “Hey, Butterfly Man,” his face would break into a smile. The title suits him.And he loves it.
Arthur Bonner works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly (蝴蝶), once thought to have died out. Today the butterfly is coming back—thanks to him. But years ago if you’d told him this was what he’d be doing someday, he would have laughed, “You’re crazy.” As a boy, he used to be “a little tough guy on the streets”. At age thirteen, he was caught by police for stealing. At eighteen, he landed in prison for shooting a man.
“I knew it had hurt my mom,” Bonner said after he got out of prison.“So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again.”
One day he met Professor Mattoni, who was working to rebuild the habitat (栖息地) for an endangered butterfly called EI Segundo blue.
“I saw the sign ‘Butterfly Habitat’ and asked, ‘How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?’” Bonner recalls,“Dr. Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass (放大镜), ‘Look at the leaves.’ I could see all these caterpillars (蝴蝶的幼虫) on the plant. Dr. Mattoni explained, ‘Without the plant, there are no butterflies.’”
Weeks later, Bonner received a call from Dr. Mattoni, who told him there was a butterfly that needed help. That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue. Since then he’s been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back. He grows astragalus, the only plant the butterfly eats. He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs. Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat.
The butterfly’s population, once almost zero, is now up to 900. For their work, Bonner and Dr. Mattoni received lots of awards. But for Bonner, he earned something more: he turned his life around.
For six years now Bonner has kept his promise to stay out of prison. While he’s bringing back the Palos Verdes blue, the butterfly has helped bring him back, too.
1. When he was young,Arthur Bonner _______.| A．broke the law and ended up in prison |
| B．was fond of shooting and hurt his mom |
| C．often laughed at people on the streets |
| D．often caught butterflies and took them home |
| A．found the butterfly had died out |
| B．won many prizes from his professor |
| C．met Dr. Mattoni, a professor of biology |
| D．collected butterflies and put them into a lab |
| A．made Bonner famous |
| B．changed Bonner’s life |
| C．brought Bonner wealth |
| D．enriched Bonner’s knowledge |
| A．A Promise to Mom |
| B．A Man Saved by Butterflies |
| C．A Story of Butterflies |
| D．A Job Offered by Dr. Mattoni |
8 . I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant, and ancient for a sportsman. Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me. Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age, but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.
A few days ago, a friend tried to cheer me up by saying, “Fifty is what forty used to be.” He had made an inspirational point, Am I over the hill? People keep telling me that the hill has been moved, and I keep telling them that he high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.
“Your are not getting older, you are getting better.” says Dr. Joyce Brothers. This, however, is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.
And so as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net. I am moves to share some thoughts on aging with you. I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally. Getting older. of course, is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies (悼词). In fact, a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all:
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to me.
Whether or not Browning was right, most of my first fifty years have been golden ones, so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by. I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend (混合) of both fighting and accepting my aging, hoping that the philosopher (哲学家) was right when he said, “Old is always fifteen years from now.”
1. The author seems to tell us in Paragraph 1 that ________.| A．time alone will tell | B．time goes by quickly |
| C．time will show what is right | D．time makes one forget the past |
| A．tried to comfort him | B．got inspiration with him |
| C．were friendlier with him | D．found him more talkative |
| A．peaceful | B．ordinary | C．satisfactory | D．regretful |
| A．the old should led a simple life | B．the old should face the fact of aging |
| C．the old should take more exercise | D．the old should fill themselves with curiosity |
Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.
My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.
I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student(技校学生). They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.
When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid,” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”
I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls(光荣榜).
But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it , but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.
My son ,with other motorheads,fixed the car. They got parts(零件）from ajunkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The lost was $25 instead of $80.
Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.
These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.
I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.
My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.
1. What used to be the author’s hope for his son?
| A．To avoid becoming his clone. |
| B．To resemble him in appearance. |
| C．To develop in a different direction. |
| D．To reach the author’s unachieved goals. |
| A．His daughter does better in school. |
| B．His daughter has got a master’s degree. |
| C．His son tried hard to finish homework. |
| D．His son couldn’t write his book reports. |
| A．His son had the ability to fix it. |
| B．it would save him much time. |
| C．it wouldn’t cause him any more loss |
| D．other motorheads would come to help. |
| A．tidy and hardworking | B．cheerful and smart |
| C．lazy but bright | D．relaxed but rude |
| A．It is unwise to expect your child to follow your path. |
| B．It is important for one to make the honor roll. |
| C．Architects play a more important role than builders. |
| D．Motorheads have greater ability than office workers. |
The movement was so fierce that several passengers felt
About twenty minutes into the adventure, the entire airplane became very
There was now a sense of anxiety and fear that could be
| A．mistake | B．delay | C．change | D．wind |
| A．forced | B．warned | C．swept | D．reminded |
| A．watching | B．visiting | C．circling | D．crossing |
| A．arrive | B．enter | C．stop | D．land |
| A．if | B．though | C．because | D．while |
| A．light | B．pale | C．easy | D．quick |
| A．sick | B．nervous | C．angry | D．afraid |
| A．empty | B．narrow | C．secret | D．open |
| A．happens | B．continues | C．fails | D．serves |
| A．quiet | B．hot | C．dirty | D．crowded |
| A．partly | B．gradually | C．shortly | D．clearly |
| A．pilot | B．baby | C．guard | D．man |
| A．seats | B．passengers | C．flight | D．airplane |
| A．realized | B．hoped | C．agreed | D．insisted |
| A．health | B．safety | C．joy | D．future |
| A．teachers | B．books | C．experience | D．practice |
| A．learning | B．taking | C．missing | D．enjoying |
| A．sat | B．lay | C．went | D．rode |
| A．nearly | B．finally | C．really | D．suddenly |
| A．attempted | B．managed | C．wanted | D．decided |
