1 . I remember the first time I saw a skateboarder roll past me when I was 14 in the early 90s. The skater wove in and out of the schoolchildren. He moved in such a smooth and cool way. He flowed through the crowds in the same way that water finds its natural route. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. Why walk to school when you could skate? After serious saving and a request for early birthday funds, I found myself in the skate shop and got my first skateboard.

What I didn’t know then was that this first attempt was the beginning of a voyage that would never end. Information and experiences were exchanged and shared with friends. Videos of legendary professionals — Mark Gonzales, Rodney Mullen, Chris Miller — were circulated and pored over. After making a thorough study, I realized that dedication and perseverance played a great role in skateboarding.

Skateboarding forever changes the way you see urban spaces. The 1960s architectural eyesores (碍眼的建筑) become a creative challenge which awaits the unusual exploration of a skater. With the streets as your playground, loyal friendships are formed. You wander like a wolf pack, hunting out new challenges and opportunities. And when you journey further into the unknown architectural skate spots around the globe, you know endless good times await. You’re a global conqueror aboard four wheels and seven layers of plywood (胶合板).

There are no short cuts in the sport. As a creative culture, skateboarding is big business for sure, but the ability to flow confidently on a skateboard is no easy thing to achieve. To succeed at anything worth hard work, you need patience and perseverance — skateboarding is no different.

I’m now 36, and, as I continue to age, my adventures as a skateboarder will go on. While tricks come and go for the most part, it’s the feeling of smoothly moving through time and space that inspires a skateboarder on. Skateboarding is an extension of play and of that, I shall never tire.

1. Why did the author set foot on a skateboard at first?

A．Because he got a skateboard as a birthday gift.

B．Because he was interested in the culture of skateboarding.

C．Because he was impressed by a stranger’s skateboarding skills.

D．Because he wanted a unique means of transportation to go to school,

2. What does the underlined phrase “pored over” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Warmly welcomed.	B．Highly praised.
C．Fully expected.	D．Carefully studied.

3. What are the most important factors in having extraordinary skateboard skills according to the text?

A．Confidence and courage.	B．Devotion and continuous effort.
C．Information and experience.	D．Talent and social skills.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Why I Love Skateboarding	B．How I Learnt Skateboarding
C．Who Inspired Me to Skateboard	D．What I Learn from Skateboarding

2 . I was terribly shy as a child. I couldn’t bear to be noticed and if I spoke people would notice me, so I spoke as little as possible. About four years ago, I was hanging out with my friends on a playground. I noticed two little girls, who came to play near where we were. The elder sister pulled the younger girl away from us but couldn’t go far, as her sister threw herself on to the ground crying and refusing to get up. I was longing to comfort her but felt unable to do so.

Then I thought: Why am I waiting for someone to give me permission to do what I feel is right? I went over to the little girl and held out my hand. I had merely intended to help her up first but instead she pulled me down into a tight hug. I instantly felt the surge of her emotions flood through me. We knelt on the ground hugging tightly for what felt like a longtime; at one point I tried to move away but she wouldn’t let me go. The elder girl had run off, and reappeared with a man I took to be their father. She pointed at me accusingly (谴责地). It occurred to me that he would probably be angry at a stranger hugging his child and might shout at me or even hit me. I then decided that it didn’t matter if he did hit me. At that moment, the only thing that mattered in the world was comforting the little girl in my arms.

To my surprise, the man wasn’t angry. He just nodded and held his arms out to his child. She calmed down and went to him willingly. He carried her away and the sister followed them. I watched them disappear into the crowd.

That day, I learned that I can speak, and if-I can’t speak, I can take action, which is often easier. I still find speaking difficult. But now I know that if I need to, I can.

1. Why did the author approach the little girl on the playground?

A．To scold her for crying on the playground.

B．To join in the play with her and her sister.

C．To understand why she was so emotional.

D．To offer comfort and assistance to her.

2. Why did the author think it didn’t matter if the father got angry or hit them?

A．Her friends would protect her.

B．She didn’t care about the consequences.

C．She believed the father was friendly.

D．She was trying to impress the little girl.

3. What is the main message the author wants to convey through this story?

A．The significance of seeking permission before helping others.

B．The benefits of taking action and making a difference to others.

C．The necessity of caution when interacting with strangers’ kids.

D．The importance of overcoming shyness and becoming brave.

3 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

When I was six, I played my first soccer game. It was a real game, complete with coaches, uniforms, and parents cheering from the sidelines.

Our two teams, Team One and Team Two, seemed pretty evenly matched, at least in the beginning. The first period ended without a single goal scored by either side. We were all still learning how to play the game properly, and our inexperience ran through this part. We stumbled over the ball, tripped over our own feet, and often completely missed our kicks. But what mattered most was that we were having fun, pure and simple.

The second quarter brought a significant change in the game. Our coach decided to pull out most of our starting players and put in the substitutes (替补), except for me—I was left guarding the goal. On the other side, Team Two’s coach decided to keep their best players on the field, which made things even more challenging for us. It seemed that winning suddenly become essential, even for us six-year-olds.

Team Two started to rule the game, and I found myself surrounded by their players whenever they came near our goal. I was determined to do my best, but it was tough. I couldn’t match the skills of three or four other really good players. Team Two began to score, one goal after another. I threw myself in front of the ball with all the energy I could gather, trying desperately to stop them but in vain.

The pressure was mounting, and I could feel my frustration building with every goal that slipped past me. I shouted, I ran, and I dove, but they kept scoring. I gave it everything I had, but it seemed useless.

My parents were there on the sidelines, and I could see them in the crowd. As the game progressed, I could see the change in my father’s expression. He had been urging me to try harder, yelling advice and encouragement from the sidelines, but now he seemed different. I could see the pain in his eyes, the pain he felt seeing me struggle. It made me want to cry.

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。

Team Two scored their fourth goal, and it was half-time break.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In that moment, what my father said meant the world to me.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . I’m Hayley. I graduated from YCIS Shanghai in 2021, and I’m now ____ computer engineering and economics at Johns Hopkins University in America. This autumn, I will ____ my third year.

In the summer two years ago, I remember being extremely excited yet nervous, as I was about to begin my university ____. I was also quite ____ at the idea of being away from home for so long for the first time in my life. As I said goodbye to my parents at the airport, I felt a mix of ____ and upset. I was travelling to a different continent by myself, with two suitcases beside me, and the ____ to have an unforgettable college experience.

At school, there might be challenging times. What if I don’t make any friends? What if my classes get ____? How will I do my laundry? Yes, I’ve been there too, and ____ these questions. Don’t worry; you’ll make friends. Just learn to ____ the right people.

Classes will, most ____, become intense, especially towards midterms and exams. But it’s all right; we all can ____. You will have a lot of people around you who can help.

It’s ____ to worry about things like these. You’ll slowly ____ that you’ll take on these ____ as you go, and that they won’t be as terrifying as you had ____.

1.

A．teaching

B．studying

C．explaining

D．testing

2.

A．plan

B．miss

C．avoid

D．start

3.

A．application

B．tournament

C．journey

D．vacation

4.

A．annoyed

B．anxious

C．disappointed

D．shocked

5.

A．anger

B．hate

C．respect

D．fear

6.

A．luck

B．patience

C．determination

D．freedom

7.

A．painful

B．stressful

C．meaningful

D．peaceful

8.

A．commented on

B．escaped from

C．thought about

D．brought back

9.

A．hire

B．pick

C．interview

D．appoint

10.

A．frequently

B．encouragingly

C．likely

D．importantly

11.

A．dream

B．relax

C．enjoy

D．survive

12.

A．difficult

B．interesting

C．normal

D．unusual

13.

A．forget

B．realize

C．promise

D．regret

14.

A．challenges

B．activities

C．responsibilities

D．jobs

15.

A．overcome

B．advertised

C．highlighted

D．imagined

5 . When Eugenie George first heard that her friend passed a financial exam, her heart sank. She’d ______ the same test weeks earlier.

“Envy was eating me up,” recalls George. But anyway she ______ her friend. “And I told her I failed and admitted I was ______,” she says. George knew that being ______ would ease her envy, but she was surprised that it also enabled her to ______ her friend’s happiness and experience her own in turn.

Finding ______ in another person’s good fortune is what social scientists call freudenfreude, the great joy we feel when someone else succeeds, ______ it doesn’t directly involve us. Freudenfreude is like a kind of social______, says Catherine Chambliss, a professor of psychology. It makes relationships “closer and more enjoyable.”

Too often, we think our friends ______ us most during their hard times: a job ______, getting divorced. In fact, how friends ______ our joy is even more important for us than how they respond to our ______. Too often, we think of joy passively. We see it as something that come to us, instead of something we can ______. While it can be difficult in practice, freudenfreude can lift us up and ______ our day. So celebrating our friends’ ______ is a win-win to us all.

1.

A．taken

B．passed

C．failed

D．prepared

2.

A．congratulated

B．forgave

C．blamed

D．ignored

3.

A．badly-behaved

B．over-burdened

C．short-sighted

D．green-eyed

4.

A．tough

B．honest

C．tolerant

D．optimistic

5.

A．imagine

B．understand

C．share

D．increase

6.

A．hope

B．passion

C．confidence

D．pleasure

7.

A．even if

B．as if

C．now that

D．so that

8.

A．platform

B．glue

C．booster

D．routine

9.

A．support

B．annoy

C．upset

D．need

10.

A．loss

B．change

C．interview

D．application

11.

A．look forward to

B．contribute to

C．get used to

D．react to

12.

A．envy

B．complaints

C．suffering

D．mistakes

13.

A．predict

B．produce

C．choose

D．measure

14.

A．fill

B．start

C．brighten

D．balance

15.

A．survival

B．success

C．recovery

D．generosity

6 . I ask every student I interview for admission to my institution, Pitzer College, the same question, “What do you look forward to the most in college?” I was astonished and delighted recently when a student replied, “I look forward to the possibility of failure.” Of course, this is not how most students respond to the question when sitting before the person who can make decisions about their academic futures, but this young man took a risk.

“You see, my parents have never let me fail,” he said. “When I want to take a chance at something, they remind me it’s not a safe route to take. Taking a more demanding course or trying an activity I may not succeed in, they tell me, will ruin my chances at college admission.”

I wish I could tell you this is an uncommon story, but kids all over the world admit they are under great pressure to be perfect. When I was traveling in China last fall and asked a Chinese student what she did for fun, she replied: “I thought I wasn’t supposed to tell you that? I wouldn’t want you to think I am not serious about my work!”

Students are usually in shock when I laugh and tell them I never expect perfection. Of course, this goes against everything they’ve been told. How could a dean (院长) of admission at one of America’s most selective institutions not want the best and the brightest? The reality is, perfection doesn’t exist, and we don’t expect to see it in a college application. In fact, admission officers tend to question students who present themselves as individuals without shortcomings.

We get the most excited when we read an application that seems real. It’s so rare to hear stories of defeat. If their perspectives are of lessons learned, these applicants tend to jump to the top at highly selective colleges. We believe an error in high school should not define the rest of your life, but how you respond could shape you forever.

1. What can we learn about the student in the first two paragraphs?

A．He is taught not to take risks.

B．He tries to avoid any chance of failure.

C．He cares little about his academic futures

D．He is seldom allowed to take part in activities.

2. Why does the author mention the Chinese student in paragraph 3?

A．To emphasize the importance of hard work.

B．To compare students from different countries.

C．To give an example of the students he favors.

D．To illustrate the widespread stress on students

3. What is probably admission officers’ attitude towards a perfect application?

A．Doubtful.

B．Confused.

C．Favorable.

D．Casual.

4. What is the key to success in college according to the author?

A．A desire for perfection

B．The ability to learn from defeats.

C．The opportunity of making mistakes.

D．An experience of defeat in high school

7 . Philosophers have a bad reputation for expressing themselves in a dry and boring way. The ideals for most philosophical writing are precision, clarity, and the sort of conceptual analysis that leaves no hair un-split.

There is nothing wrong with clarity, precision, and the like — but this isn’t the only way to do philosophy. Outside academic journals, abstract philosophical ideas are often expressed through literature, cinema, and song. There’s nothing that grabs attention like a good story, and there are some great philosophical stories that delight and engage, rather than putting the reader to sleep.

One of the great things about this is that, unlike formal philosophy, which tries to be very clear, stories don’t wear their meanings on their sleeve — they require interpretation, and often express conflicting ideas for the reader to wrestle with.

Consider what philosophers call the metaphysics (形而上学) of race — an area of philosophy that explorers the question of whether or not race is real. There are three main positions that you can take on these questions. You might think that a person’s race is written in their genes (a position known as “biological realism”). Or you might think of race as socially real, like days of the week or currencies (“social constructionism”). Finally, you might think that races are unreal — that they’re more like leprechauns (一种魔法精灵) than they are like Thursdays or dollars (“anti-realism”).

A great example of a story with social constructionist taking on race is George Schuyler’s novel Black No More. In the book, a Black scientist named Crookman invents a procedure that makes Black people visually indistinguishable from Whites. Thousands of African Americans flock to Crookman’s Black No More clinics and pay him their hard-earned cash to undergo the procedure. White racists can no longer distinguish those people who are “really” White from those who merely appear to be White. In a final episode, Crookman discovers that new Whites are actually a whiter shade of pale than those who were born that way, which kicks off a trend of sunbathing to darken one’s skin-darkening it so as to look more While.

Philosophically rich stories like this bring more technical works to life. They are stories to think with.

1. What does the author think of philosophical stories?

A．The meaning behind is very obvious.

B．They am extremely precise and formal.

C．They often cause conflicts among readers.

D．They are engaging and inspire critical thinking.

2. Which category might “Christmas” fall into according to paragraph 4?

A．Social constructionism.	B．Anti-realism.
C．Biological realism.	D．Literary realism.

3. What is Black No More in paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．Racial issues caused by skin colors.

B．A society view on race and self-image.

C．Black people accepted by the white society.

D．The origin of sun bathing among white people.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．Stories Made Easy	B．Stories to Think with
C．Positions in Philosophy	D．Nature of Philosophical Writing

8 . Just about 50 years ago, needing money to support my family—my novels weren’t bestsellers—I had the idea of taking the longest train trip imaginable and writing a travel book about it. The trip was improvisational (即兴的). I didn’t have a credit card. I had no idea where I’d be staying nor how long this trip would take. And I’d never written a travel book before. I hoped my trip wouldn’t suffer a lot, though it was obviously a leap in the dark.

I set off with one small bag containing clothes, a map of Asia, a travel guidebook and some travelers’ cheques. I was often inconvenienced, sometimes threatened, now and then disturbed for bribes, occasionally laid up with food poisoning—all this vivid detail for my narrative.

What I repeated in the more than four-month trip was the pleasure of the sleeping car. Writing on board the Khyber Mail to Lahore in Pakistan, “The romance associated with the sleeping car comes from the fact that it is extremely private, combining the best features of a cupboard with forward movement. Whatever drama is being shown in this moving bedroom is heightened by the landscape passing the window...” A train is a carrier that allows residence.

I wrote The Great Railway Bazaar on my return in 1974, and it appeared to good reviews and quick sales. That’s the past. Nothing is the same. All travel is time-related. All such trips are singular and unrepeatable. It’s not just that the steam trains of Asia are gone, but much of the peace and order is gone. Who’d risk an Iranian train now or take a bus through Afghanistan?

But I’ve been surprised by some of the more recent developments in travel. I rode on Chinese trains for a year and wrote Riding the Iron Rooster, but now China has much cleaner and swifter trains and modernized destinations. A traveler today could take the same trip I took in 1986—1987 and produce a completely different book.

All travel books are dated. That’s their fault that they’re outdated, and it’s their virtue that they preserve something of the past that would otherwise be lost.

1. What happened at the beginning of the author’s trip to Asia?

A．He made full preparations for the trip.

B．He had expected the journey to be rough.

C．He organized the trip with his family’s support.

D．He started the trip out of his passion for traveling.

2. Why did the author repeatedly recall the sleeping car?

A．For its romantic scenery.	B．For its reassuring privacy.
C．For its full equipment.	D．For its long distance.

3. What did the author try to convey by saying “Nothing is the same”?

A．The landscape in Asia was gone.	B．Train trip was no longer popular.
C．He couldn’t write another bestseller.	D．Transportation and travel had changed a lot.

4. Which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．Sharp tools make good work.
C．Travel, truth is not the arrival card.	D．The journey, not the arrival matters.

9 . In 1984, I was a painfully insecure teenage girl from a dysfunctional family, depressed, underweight, and rejected by my classmates. My only comfort was to be the stage manager at our school.

One day, actors from the famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival came to perform for the school. One of them was Barry Kraft, and he was unlike anyone I’d ever met. As I ran around backstage helping him, he treated me with friendliness and respect that he would show for friends in his living room.

He showed up at our drama class and asked everyone to narrate a monologue (独白). To my shock, he took me aside after class and said, “Your monologue was the best. That was really very good.”

I made it through graduation and got accepted to college. That summer, I traveled with a friend to see Mr. Kraft perform. During one performance, I gathered up my courage and dropped him a note during the break, saying I was visiting and if he looked he could see us. Almost immediately I regretted sending the note. I thought it was the most presumptuous (留失的) thing I had ever done.

At the end of the show, he was waiting for me! He smiled broadly and gave me a hug. Then he said, “Would you like to visit backstage?” And off we went. Every time we met someone, he introduced me and said, “She’s a very good performer who was a huge help to me at her school visit.”

It is difficult to describe how important this man’s attention was to me. A successful actor doesn’t have to give a depressed teenager the time of day, but he did far more. My confidence had just increased 800 percent. I am now a happily married professional, and whenever I notice a teenager in need, I remember Barry Kraft. He saw a teenager in need of attention and support, and he took the time to help. So now I take the time, too.

1. What do we know about the author?

A．She was loved by her parents.	B．She felt left out by her classmates.
C．She suffered terribly from stage fright.	D．She was troubled by the issue of overweight.

2. Which of the following can best describe Barry Kraft?

A．Friendly and considerate.	B．Intelligent and patient.
C．Committed and generous.	D．Confident and energetic.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The author will continue with her education.

B．Barry Kraft will team up with the author.

C．Barry Kraft inspired the author to study drama.

D．The author will make efforts to assist teenagers.

4. What’s the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce a famous actor.

B．To encourage people to overcome difficulties.

C．To share the author’s experience and its impact on her.

D．To explain the reason why the author loves stage management.

10 . There’s a widely held belief that self-discipline means being able to do something when people don’t actually want to do it.    1    But this view of self-discipline is not right.

Containing one’s authenticity comes at a cost.     2    There was a time when I lived very inauthentically. Instead of following my sincere desire to become a psychologist, I studied engineering. I neglected, my authentic self and tried to meet social expectations. I thought I was doing what I should do to succeed and be respected by society.     3    And this loss of connection cost me dear, causing me to develop lots of health problems. So what does it really mean to be self-disciplined?

    4    Rather than trying to contain or control their genuine feelings, they try to understand them. Then they learn how to allow their authentic self to develop. And by doing so, they live lives of wholeness and happiness.

But how does someone become such a person in the first place? They follow their own interests and deal with the challenges that they personally feel called to manage.     5    For them, self-control is never a problem. They move as one harmonious unit their perfect self works harmoniously with the authentic self to promote their growth.

So here’s the secret to self-discipline. Self-discipline is not about forcing yourself to meet social expectations, but following your own dream and allowing your authentic self to develop.

A．I know this from first-hand experience.

B．I didn’t believe this in my previous life.

C．Truly self-disciplined people are followers of themselves.

D．Forcing yourself to do things you don’t want to do is not self-discipline.

E．They go after what they genuinely want, not what society tells them to do.

F．Gradually, I became out of touch with my own true feelings, desires, and nature.

G．For them, self-discipline means ignoring their real self in favour of the perfect self.