1 . It was midnight, and I was on my knees, burying head in my hands. I struggled to
To others, the decision was
Exhausted, I rose to my feet, and made my way upstairs to check on my children, finding each curled up in a
The decision, indeed, was simple. I would
To be sure, I lost a number of business opportunities. But I was available to
Now I have no regrets. I am
A.put out | B.jump at | C.turn down | D.hold back |
A.card | B.offer | C.letter | D.essay |
A.simple | B.smart | C.casual | D.cautious |
A.carefully | B.nervously | C.critically | D.eventually |
A.light | B.sound | C.fresh | D.hard |
A.relax | B.follow | C.rescue | D.inspire |
A.decline | B.change | C.respect | D.accept |
A.honour | B.backpack | C.weight | D.project |
A.publishing | B.preserving | C.exploring | D.accumulating |
A.devoted | B.connected | C.limited | D.donated |
A.imagine | B.report | C.embrace | D.adjust |
A.adapt | B.refer | C.turn | D.head |
A.heart | B.room | C.mood | D.book |
A.anxious | B.grateful | C.ready | D.famous |
A.design | B.hope | C.worry | D.voice |
2 . During a period of two months, the east coast of Florida was hit by three major hurricanes!
When we
This was the first time we had ever
Although I had been trying to plant all the right plants to
The hurricane season affected me in a very
A.woke up | B.stood up | C.looked up | D.turned up |
A.Generally | B.Gradually | C.Normally | D.Suddenly |
A.garden | B.room | C.balcony | D.office |
A.dropped | B.appeared | C.remained | D.landed |
A.heard | B.drawn | C.seen | D.caught |
A.color | B.name | C.shape | D.sight |
A.symbol | B.concept | C.belief | D.wonder |
A.attract | B.feed | C.drive | D.impress |
A.formally | B.finally | C.regularly | D.constantly |
A.task | B.joy | C.hope | D.plan |
A.track | B.mind | C.view | D.shadow |
A.common | B.casual | C.strange | D.positive |
A.informed | B.warned | C.reminded | D.cured |
A.message | B.hobby | C.subject | D.chance |
A.buying | B.changing | C.receiving | D.planting |
3 . I love persimmons (柿子). The sweet, bright orange fruit indicates the coming of autumn in Iran, where I grew up. Persimmons can’t grow just anywhere, but they do grow in California, where I now live. A few years ago, preparing to travel from San Francisco to Boston, I packed two persimmons, one of which I ate in the departure hall, waiting for boarding.
At this point, a lady came up, asking where the fruit was purchased. She looked a bit disappointed when hearing it couldn’t be gained at the airport and returned to her seat on the other end of the hall. “I can give the second persimmon away”, I thought to myself. When I offered her the fruit, she at first opposed, but when I insisted, she was visibly glad and appreciatively accepted. I went back to my seat, happy to have made someone else happy, and that, as far as I was concerned, was the end of the story.
Sometime during the flight, the lady caught up with me to thank me again. She shared that she had grown up in Japan, where there was a persimmon tree in the yard of her childhood home. She now lived in Boston, where she hadn’t been able to find the fruit. The taste of this persimmon was precious to her, reconnecting her with memories of her relatives.
Only then did the impact of this tiny act of generosity dawn on me. I am so moved to this day that the taste of the persimmon I never ate gives me more joy than all the ones I have eaten, combined.
My experience is not unique. Research has shown that acts of generosity for others make us happier than treating ourselves. A 2008 study by Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton and colleagues found that despite participants’ predictions to the contrary, giving money to someone else increased their own happiness more than spending it on themselves.
1. Why was the lady so grateful?A.She found the persimmon special. |
B.She missed persimmons so much. |
C.She shared her experience with the author. |
D.She recalled the memories with her family. |
A.By clarifying a concept. | B.By making a contrast. |
C.By giving examples. | D.By making proposals. |
A.Modest. | B.Caring. | C.Mean. | D.Demanding. |
A.The Joy of Generosity | B.An Unforgettable Experience |
C.Giving is Better Than Receiving | D.The Impact of a Tiny Act |
4 . For many years, I was so wrapped up in my kids and my family that I ignored how I looked. The words “
It wasn’t until recently, when I had my picture taken for a work ID, that I
For a few days, I was a little
I thought I was
That simple question opened my weary eyes once and for all. My family
Someone once said that
A.delicate | B.constant | C.slight | D.low |
A.realized | B.recognized | C.acknowledged | D.recommended |
A.energetic | B.cautious | C.enthusiastic | D.tired |
A.confused | B.interested | C.bothered | D.desired |
A.act | B.dress | C.behave | D.pretend |
A.tied up | B.cut away | C.took turns | D.took pains |
A.sending | B.turning | C.succeeding | D.bringing |
A.casually | B.temporarily | C.briefly | D.improperly |
A.teaching | B.fooling | C.decorating | D.enjoying |
A.loves | B.helps | C.changes | D.shapes |
A.trick | B.role | C.joke | D.game |
A.relief | B.belief | C.power | D.beauty |
A.inner | B.natural | C.outside | D.moral |
A.beats | B.meets | C.warms | D.restricts |
A.behavioral | B.genuine | C.physical | D.biological |
My ex-husband had made some very bad choices in his life, and I did not want my children to pay for them all their lives, so the boys and I talked and we decided to move. We moved 2,700 miles from home. We had a small car that pulled a small U-haul over the Rocky Mountains. I could barely read a map (my 8-year-old reads them great, I learned).
We arrived in our new town three days later, and found an apartment. I started the boys in their new school and went to our new home to unload the U-haul. I had brought all the clothes, dishes, blankets and toys that I could fit in the U-haul. As I began unloading, a lady whom I had briefly met the day before was driving down the road and she stopped to help me unload and carry everything up the three flights of stairs. After getting moved in, I was blessed two days later when I found a job.
Things were going great. The boys went to the Boys & Girls Club after school, and I would pick them up after work. In December, two months after moving, the manager of the Boys & Girls Club called me and said that there was a group of people who wanted to choose a family for Christmas and would I mind if they chose our family. My first thought was no, because we had all the love we needed for the holidays, but then he said that my children had told him that there was no furniture in the house, and this group had a lot of used furniture, and that the boys and I would be making them very happy. So I agreed.
They called me and asked what the boys wanted for Christmas and I told them that anything would be appreciated, and I told them what their favorite toys were.
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。
They showed up on December 23.
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My children and I have supported a child every year since then.
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6 . Volunteering has been a way of life for me for the past few years since I was fifteen. In 2020 I volunteered with a newly founded social enterprise, which
We called ourselves “sighted assistants” and each of us was
Being there with them made me truly
A.observed | B.prepared | C.designed | D.conducted |
A.manager | B.lawyer | C.chef | D.doctor |
A.interaction | B.agreement | C.greeting | D.conflict |
A.confused | B.engaged | C.surprised | D.disturbed |
A.boring | B.frightening | C.challenging | D.promising |
A.faced | B.compared | C.paired | D.equipped |
A.flee | B.dash | C.escape | D.walk |
A.satisfaction | B.safety | C.pleasure | D.optimism |
A.leave out | B.miss out | C.figure out | D.point out |
A.avoiding | B.touching | C.approaching | D.feeling |
A.appreciate | B.wish | C.predict | D.assess |
A.temporarily | B.partly | C.frequently | D.initially |
A.simplifies | B.prohibits | C.requires | D.offers |
A.cure | B.hide | C.preserve | D.increase |
A.luckier | B.tougher | C.softer | D.easier |
7 . Hank, a two-year-old cat, is a homebody. But recently, he got
Hank’s big
When Hank’s owner, Delores Bushong,
The neighbor, whose tree Hank had climbed, let Bushong sit in his backyard and
By day five, they tried a new
The cat, following the familiar scents, climbed into the basket and was
Bushong said the help of her community was
A.injured | B.stuck | C.involved | D.lost |
A.practice | B.challenge | C.adventure | D.appearance |
A.by chance | B.in turn | C.on time | D.as usual |
A.rescued | B.observed | C.trained | D.spotted |
A.Typically | B.Surprisingly | C.Unfortunately | D.Strangely |
A.smooth | B.stable | C.flexible | D.fixed |
A.shocked | B.embarrassed | C.ashamed | D.helpless |
A.talk | B.catch | C.bring | D.frighten |
A.received | B.donated | C.preserved | D.sold |
A.energetic | B.hungry | C.curious | D.cautious |
A.instruction | B.opinion | C.approach | D.choice |
A.created | B.repaired | C.bought | D.texted |
A.made | B.carried | C.raised | D.decorated |
A.comforted | B.protected | C.returned | D.lowered |
A.responsible | B.serious | C.available | D.remarkable |
8 . Something strange has been happening to me lately: Women in the street have been telling me I’m brave. My act of courage isn’t much —
I had brown hair that started going gray when I was 30. So, like a lot of women, I started dyeing it.
When I see my hair in the mirror, it’s a reminder that my time is not infinite, and I should spend it doing what matters.
A.Enjoy whatever life gives me. |
B.Dyeing made me look younger. |
C.I just stopped coloring my hair. |
D.I like my natural hair, just as it is. |
E.It was expensive and time-consuming. |
F.Of course, people should do what they want with their own body. |
G.And pretending it’s not happening is a way of giving up our power. |
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。
These days, Marathon des Sables runners carry a GPS tracking device and helicopters monitor their path to make sure no one gets lost, but when Mauro, a police officer, participated for the first time in 1994, there were no such safeguards in place. When you’re running through the largest desert on Earth, one wrong turn can cost you your life. Mauro Prosperi did just that during the Marathon des Sables, a six-day ultramarathon that many regard as the toughest foot race in the world.
The race was almost 156 miles long, taking runners across sand dunes (沙丘) with few natural sources of water. Temperatures in the Sahara could reach as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and each runner carried over 20 pounds of food, water, and emergency supplies on their backs. Most of these runners wouldn’t end up finishing the race, which was about the same length as six regular marathons.
That was how, on the fourth and longest days of the race, the runner Mauro encountered a severe sandstorm that turned him around and sent him wildly off course.
He spent eight hours waiting out the storm, huddled in a sand dune. The next morning, he expected to see rescuers heading his way. Instead, all he saw was desert in all directions. “After running for about for hours, I climbed up a dune and still couldn’t see anything,” he said. “That’s when I knew I had a big problem.”
A search party was organized to find Mauro, but rescuers had no idea he had been so far off course. Twice a helicopter circled over his head, and twice they didn’t see him wildly waving at them from below. He sent up his only flare (照明弹) and even set his backpack on fire hoping to catch their attention, but it was no use.
When Mauro’s water ran out, he began drinking his own urine. He found a marabout shrine, an ancient building that once served as a tomb. He took shelter from the sun’s rays there, drinking the blood of bats.
With his energy running out, he thought, “I am bound to die here”.
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After being treated in the hospital for weakness, he made a full recovery!
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10 . “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for,” said John A. Shedd, an early 20th century author. Throughout the Covid-19, we’ve all become used to assessing risk in new ways. We’ve come to understand, though we can never get rid of risk altogether, we have great power to make choices both large and small to protect ourselves.
Developmental psychologists talk about “positive risks” — socially acceptable risks that our lives can benefit from.
One guide to positive risk management lists ways that people can make sure their risks are on the “safe" side of risk range. For example, to ensure a successful bike ride, you should in advance equip yourself with a fully-charged cell phone and a full water bottle.
Nobody wants to be needlessly risky. But using our newly-acquired risk assessment tools, we can once again learn and grow in our lives.
A.Take risks in a positive way. |
B.But the self-protective mind state carries its own risk. |
C.Overall happiness is one benefit of positive risk-taking. |
D.Remember to tell one of your friends or family your destination. |
E.Besides taking preventive steps, flexible thinking is also encouraged. |
F.Like a ship sailing away from its harbor, that is what we were built to do. |
G.For teenagers, this means risks like running for monitor or trying out for a team. |