1 . A wildlife photographer was waiting, hoping to get a shot of a relatively rare bird, a particular kind of heron(鹭). He’d waited several frustrating hours in the woods, but with no luck at all. Suddenly, to the photographer’s delight, a heron settled on a branch right in front of him. The photographer raised his camera and took the shot. Feeling particularly pleased, the photographer looked at the image. To his astonishment, he saw that behind the heron, his photograph had also captured a very, very rare woodpecker flying past. He hadn’t seen it, but without even trying, he’d photographed an even rarer bird than the one he was aiming for. This is an example of serendipity.
Cases of serendipity can be found in numerous fields, such as science. Back in the 1800s, a man called Wellswas at a demonstration (演示) of laughing gas. After being given the gas, the patient started laughing, as expected. But then he suddenly fell over and cut his le g rather badly. To everyone’s surprise, the man reported that he couldn’t feel any pain. Wells hadn’t been looking for it, but he’d made a medical discovery — certain gases reduce and can even almost eradicate pain. Had Wells not been there that night, anesthesia (麻醉) might have taken longer to be discovered.
Most of us can probably think of at least one example of serendipity in our own lives. Jane, a friend of mine,was trying to come up with an idea for an article but got completely stuck. Frustrated, she decided to go out to a local café. As she was sipping her coffee, she heard two people talking behind her. A man was telling a story that sounded so unbelievable that she knew it had to be true. She asked the people if she could interview them for the article. They agreed and her article turned out to be one of the top trending articles of the week.
1. The word “serendipity” in paragraph 1 means the fact of __________.| A．observing rare birds in person | B．achieving important aims in time |
| C．finding valuable things by chance | D．taking interesting photos by mistake |
| A．The gas’s hidden damage. | B．The gas’s pain-killing effect. |
| C．The patient’s scientific discovery. | D．The patient’s balance-losing moment. |
| A．To take a break. | B．To meet a friend. |
| C．To write an article. | D．To do an interview. |
| A．To explain a concept. | B．To promote a culture. |
| C．To introduce a person. | D．To recommend a method. |
1. What is the conversation mainly about?
| A．Weekend plans. | B．Phone usage. | C．Social apps. |
| A．5. | B．6. | C．60. |
Jim was walking down a dimly lit street late on evening, hoping to see his lovely children as soon as possible. As he was walking quietly, Jim heard muffled (低沉) screams coming from behind some bushes. Alarmed (惊慌的), Jim stopped to listen carefully. He realized that what he was hearing was the unmistakable (清楚明白的) sound of a struggle. Thinking of the danger, he became frightened.
Only yards from where Jim stood, a girl was being attacked. Jim didn’t know what to do. Should he get involved in it? He was worried about his own safety. He was wandering whether he should just run to the nearest phone and call the police or went to fight with the attacker (攻击者) to save the unknown girl.
As he suffered from inward struggle, the girl’s cries were growing weaker. Jim knew he had to act fast. Yet he knew he couldn’t just walk away from this. He realized that he could not turn his back on the fate (命运) of this unknown girl, even if it meant risking his own life.
Jim was not a brave man, nor was he athletic (健壮的). Even he himself didn’t quite know where he found the moral courage and physical strength. However once he was determined to help the girl, he became strangely transformed (转变). He ran behind the bushes and pulled the attacker off the girl, who panicked very much. Seeing Jim prevent him, the attacker became crazy and began to fight with him. Jim became fearless and then fell to the ground, where they wrestled (摔跤) for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped. Jim felt very tired and he couldn’t catch the attacker.
Paragraph 1:
Watching the attacker run into the darkness, Jim thought of the girl.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
“Dad, is that you?”asked the girl in wonder and amazement as she____________________________.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. How do scientists at University College London measure memory loss?
| A．By recording the time people spend on TV. |
| B．By tracking people's living habits. |
| C．By using memory and fluency tests. |
| A．Watching television for hours. |
| B．Playing video games for hours. |
| C．Surfing the Internet for hours. |
| A．Make more friends. |
| B．Sleep eight to ten hours per night. |
| C．Balance TV viewing with other activities. |
1. When will Steve plan to get back?
| A．Saturday evening or Sunday evening. |
| B．Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. |
| C．Saturday evening or Sunday morning. |
| A．Steve’s party. | B．Peter’s party. | C．Angel’s party. |
| A．Surely on Saturday morning. |
| B．It’s hard to say. |
| C．Of course, on Saturday afternoon. |
6 . One woman named Nancy Lublin noticed that teenagers in the United States needed more mental health services. She also saw that teenagers seemed more comfortable communicating through texting. These two realizations pushed Lublin to create Crisis Text Line, an organization that focuses on crisis intervention through text messaging.
“Texting turns out to be incredibly effective for counseling in a crisis,” Lublin told Glamour magazine. “It cuts right to the chase. You don’t get hyperventilating(呼吸急促) and crying. You just get facts.” When someone texts Crisis Text Line, the counselors, who are trained volunteers, use listening, collaborative problem-solving, and referrals to best help the texter overcome their crisis. “The Crisis Text Line has blown the roof off a lot of long-held assumptions about teens,” said Anthony Pisani, a member of Crisis Text Line’s clinical advisory board. He continued: “The number of kids reaching out is unprecedented. And I think the data could be revolutionary in terms of understanding adolescents in crisis and what it takes to help them.”
In fact, the data has already helped to uncover new trends. For example, the organization found that 30 percent of texts are about depression and suicide. They also found that two-thirds of crises occur at night between 8 pm and 4 am. Although the counselors don’t exactly know what causes these trends, they hope the data, which is made publicly available on CrisisTrends.org, can be used by researchers to better understand what might trigger them. They also hope that making this data public will better reduce the shame surrounding mental health support. Since starting in August 2013, Crisis Text Line has had over 5.5 million conversations with people seeking immediate mental health help. That number is only expected to grow as more people become comfortable enough to reach out for help when they are experiencing a mental health crisis.
“People are texting us from the office, from the lunch table,” Lublin said. “They’re texting us right when something is happening. So we’re getting them at the moment we can be most impactful — and we’re telling them they’re not alone.” Lublin commented, “I’ve got to admit that it feels pretty good to save lives.”
1. What’s the main purpose of Crisis Text Line?| A．To collect data about teenage health issues. | B．To offer teenagers mental health support. |
| C．To train teens to provide texting services. | D．To smooth parent-teen communication. |
| A．Involves a lot of work. | B．Lends someone a hand. |
| C．Communicates feelings. | D．Goes directly to the point. |
| A．To explore causes and solutions. | B．To promote the organization. |
| C．To call attention to mental health. | D．To know what adolescents care about |
| A．It gives her a sense of achievement. | B．It helps her overcome her mental problems. |
| C．Its services should be more effective. | D．The number of its users is likely to drop. |
1. What made Catherine look terrible?
| A．Her mother’s illness. |
| B．Her grandmother’s death. |
| C．Her friend’s sudden appearance. |
| A．She was sleeping. |
| B．She was seeing the doctor. |
| C．She was doing housework. |
| A．At home. | B．In the office. | C．In the hospital. |
| A．He looked for her everywhere. |
| B．He often visited the cemetery. |
| C．He liked talking to himself all day. |
Amy and Jenny have been close for eight years. They do almost everything together. But last Saturday, what Jenny did broke Amy’s heart.
Their
Today, however, a classmate told Amy she had seen Jenny
Cindy, a netizen who saw Amy’s post holds the view that it’s quick for Amy
Another person named David said he
1. What does the man say are the best places to meet people ?
| A．Gyms. | B．Parks. | C．Libraries. |
| A．It was expensive. | B．It was crowded. | C．It was efficient. |
| A．He liked Thai people. | B．He spoke Thai well. | C．He enjoyed the life in Thailand. |
10 . With summer in full swing and excessive heat waves rolling through parts of the country, taking a dip in water can be a refreshing way to cool off. Every year people risk their lives in and around water as they don't follow simple safety guidelines.
Never swim alone—even in public pools or beaches where lifeguards are watching, always use the buddy system.
Always observe safety signs-be familiar with what water safety signs mean, you may see different signs at the beach or the pool. If you are unsure what these signs mean, ask a life- guard.
Don't take risks—let's play it safe when in and around water.
Always swim between the flags when at the beach—lifeguards place the flags in the safest swimming area on the beach for that day. Swimming between the flags also means that if you need help, you can signal a lifeguard by raising your arm above your head.
Learn CPR and First Aid—everybody should have some basic knowledge in first aid and CPR.
| A．Check the water conditions |
| B．Don't push or jump on others |
| C．Know what to do if you are in trouble |
| D．If you have never learnt it, 2021 might be your year to learn |
| E．We ask everyone, this summer, to be safe in water and follow these tips |
| F．Protect your children's safety around water with these tips in summer |
| G．Even very strong and confident swimmers should never swim on their own |
