1 . When reading, my mother likes to slice a paragraph or a sentence out and attach it to the wall of her kitchen. She picks boring sentences that puzzle me. But I prefer copying favorite bright lines into a journal in soft, gray No. 2 pencil, word by word.
She doesn’t know any of this. There's nothing shocking: for our chatting. we seldom begin certain conversations though we talk on the phone weekly, sometimes making each other laugh so hard that I choke and she cries. But what we don't say could fill up rooms. Fights with my father. Small failures in school. Anything that really upsets us.
My mother has never told me “I love you, Lisa.”—as if the four-word absence explains who I am—so I carry it with me, like a label on me. The last time she almost spoke the words was two years ago, when she called to tell me a friend had been in hospital. I said, “I love you, Mom.” She stopped for a while and then said, “Thank you.” I haven't said it since, but I've wondered why my mother doesn't until I've found a poem that supplies words for the blank spaces I try to understand in our conversations:
Don’t fill up on bread. I say absent-mindedly. The servings here are huge.
My son, middle-aged, says: Did you really just say that to me?
What he doesn’t know is that when we’re walking together, I desire to reach for his hand.
It's humble, yet heartbreaking. After copying it down in my journal, I emailed it to mom, adding “This poem makes me think of you.” My mother doesn’t read poetry—or at least, she doesn’t tell me, and I felt nervous clicking “Send”.
She never mentioned the poem. But the next time I went home for vacation, I noticed something new in the kitchen fixed to an antique board: the poem. The board hung above the heater, the warmest spot in the kitchen. The poem still hangs there. Neither my mother nor I have ever spoken about it.
1. What's the function of paragraph 1?| A．To stress the theme. | B．To establish the setting. |
| C．To represent the characters. | D．To create the atmosphere. |
| A．Shaky. | B．Distant. | C．Reserved. | D．Intense. |
| A．It reminded her of mom's love. |
| B．She wanted to apologize to mom. |
| C．It suited mom's taste of literature. |
| D．She needed an interpretation from mom. |
| A．A memory of golden days. |
| B．Daughter’s gratefulness to her. |
| C．A decoration in the plain kitchen. |
| D．Daughter's understanding of her. |
When I was eight or nine years old, I wrote my first poem. My mother read the little poem and began to cry. “Buddy, you didn’t really write this beautiful, beautiful poem!”
Shyly, proud-bursting, I stammered that I had. She poured out her praise. Why, this poem was nothing short of genius! I glowed.
I spent the best part of that afternoon preparing for the arrival of my father. But he did not return until an hour late for dinner. “Ben, a beautiful thing has happened,” my mother began. “Buddy has written his first poem! And it’s beautiful, absolutely amazing.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to decide that for myself,” Father said.
That poem was only ten lines. But it seemed to take hours. I could hear my father breathing. “I think it’s lousy,” my father said.
“Ben, these are the first lines of poetry he’s ever written,” my mother was saying. “He needs encouragement.”
They quarreled over it. I couldn’t stand it another second. I ran from the dinning room bawling.
Up in my room I threw myself on the bed and sobbed.
A few years later I took a second look at that first poem; it was a pretty lousy poem. But it wasn’t until years later that the true meaning of that painful “first poem” experience dawned on me. As I became a professional writer, it became clearer and clearer to me how fortunate I had been. I had a mother who said, “Buddy, did you really write this? I think it’s wonderful!” and a father who shook his head no and drove me to tears with “I think it’s lousy.” A writer — in fact every one of us in life — needs that loving-mother force from which all creation flows; and yet alone it is incomplete, even misleading, finally destructive, without the father force to caution, “Watch. Listen. Review. Improve.”
1. How do you understand the underlined part in Paragraph 2?(no more than 8 words )2. Why did the writer’s parents quarrel at dinner?(no more than 10 words )
3. What did the writer think of his first poem when he grew older?(no more than 8 words )
4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?(no more than 15 words )
5. What kind of parents do you need in life?(no more than 20 words )
3 . Earlier that evening, my mother called, telling me that my brother died in a car crash. I stumbled (跌跌撞撞地走) around the house
I tried to hold my tears. I
Larry phoned a few friends.
The doorbell rang and I rose slowly for the door. It was Donna.
“I've come to clean your shoes,” she said.
Shoes were gathered. Donna
Now whenever I hear of an acquaintance's loss of a loved one, I think of one
| A．forgetting | B．imagining | C．wondering | D．searching |
| A．damage | B．failure | C．despair | D．mess |
| A．aimlessly | B．helplessly | C．quickly | D．decisively |
| A．hurry | B．decide | C．focus | D．move |
| A．Constantly | B．Fortunately | C．Suddenly | D．Surprisingly |
| A．call for | B．ask for | C．talk about | D．get across |
| A．Touched | B．Shocked | C．Confused | D．Amused |
| A．minutes | B．hours | C．weeks | D．decades |
| A．satisfaction | B．funeral | C．smiles | D．wishes |
| A．laid | B．stood | C．rested | D．settled |
| A．released | B．held | C．stopped | D．caused |
| A．keeping | B．concentrating | C．insisting | D．depending |
| A．thoughts | B．rooms | C．sadness | D．luggage |
| A．specific | B．normal | C．challenging | D．perfect |
| A．idea | B．personality | C．identity | D．need |
4 . “I knew when I saw you, I wanted to take you home,” my dad says to me when I visit him one Saturday. There is a deep-seated
My father has Alzheimer’s (老人痴呆症). He does not
Another Saturday, he points to a photo of me and says, “She’s smart.” Does he know the
Now I bring a spoonful of yogurt to his lips. With a
These words are all he can give now. But they make me understand more
His door was always
Time, advice, money. There were many ways he
And he gives, still. The
| A．fear | B．memory | C．doubt | D．opinion |
| A．gladly | B．eventually | C．generally | D．gradually |
| A．surprises | B．answers | C．amuses | D．calms |
| A．successful | B．same | C．independent | D．responsible |
| A．admiration | B．confidence | C．affection | D．curiosity |
| A．cold | B．feeding | C．firm | D．trembling |
| A．guided | B．followed | C．scolded | D．assessed |
| A．easily | B．deeply | C．quickly | D．carefully |
| A．magical | B．closed | C．open | D．safe |
| A．hesitate | B．intend | C．pretend | D．attempt |
| A．valued | B．divided | C．killed | D．volunteered |
| A．tried | B．took | C．preserved | D．gave |
| A．chat | B．disease | C．visit | D．decision |
| A．known | B．faced | C．left | D．remembered |
| A．important | B．convenient | C．impressive | D．difficult |
5 . On the morning of September 11th, my closest friend, Kevin Bowser, died in the World Trade Center. The sorrow was so awful, but I was determined to channel it into something with
The next summer, I set off on a two-month bicycle tour to Philadelphia to
Between 2002 and 2015, I
It generated enormous joy. It was not just a hug, but also
| A．regret | B．purpose | C．reputation | D．profit |
| A．amuse | B．check | C．honour | D．trick |
| A．hired | B．met | C．avoided | D．treated |
| A．pride | B．emptiness | C．sorrow | D．comfort |
| A．strangers | B．volunteers | C．victims | D．consultants |
| A．connections | B．schedules | C．donations | D．promises |
| A．charted | B．studied | C．cycled | D．secured |
| A．destination | B．achievement | C．mission | D．background |
| A．particular | B．curious | C．positive | D．hesitant |
| A．sincere | B．unclear | C．strange | D．awful |
| A．got away | B．opened up | C．gave in | D．looked out |
| A．share | B．type | C．edit | D．collect |
| A．known | B．ambitious | C．civilized | D．friendly |
| A．conversations | B．challenges | C．tensions | D．tolerances |
| A．beautifies | B．publicizes | C．enriches | D．shelters |
6 . My Dad’s Jeep
When my father died, I got his car. Eight years later, it’s
“Because it’s Grandpa Jack’s?” Fianna asked as we
To Fianna, Grandpa Jack is a concept, not a(n)
One recent morning, I pulled up into our driveway after
I let every
| A．fading away | B．shooting up | C．falling apart | D．dying out |
| A．often | B．occasionally | C．obviously | D．again |
| A．original | B．special | C．ordinary | D．adjustable |
| A．left | B．broke | C．ran | D．pulled |
| A．alive | B．conscious | C．warm | D．quiet |
| A．tough | B．real | C．honest | D．innocent |
| A．situation | B．absence | C．state | D．job |
| A．meet | B．receive | C．miss | D．recognize |
| A．shocks | B．tolerates | C．surrounds | D．comforts |
| A．proof | B．advice | C．progress | D．news |
| A．occupied | B．balanced | C．filled | D．replaced |
| A．keeping | B．knocking | C．dropping | D．showing |
| A．puzzled | B．alarmed | C．refreshed | D．seated |
| A．version | B．memory | C．view | D．treatment |
| A．ever | B．somehow | C．never | D．seldom |
7 .
I grew up hearing that it is better to give than to receive, and the older I get, the more I aim to take this message to heart. Nevertheless, here I am, in the midst of the holiday season stressed out about gifts I have not yet purchased.
How did gift buying become an emotionally fraught chore (苦差事)? For a moment, it’s easy to question if it’s worth it. But science tells me that giving makes us feel good.
“The act of giving actually does improve your happiness,” says Michael Norton, a psychologist at Harvard Business School. He has published several studies on the effects of giving.
In one experiment that included about 700 people, the researchers randomly assigned participants to make either a purchase for themselves, or for a stranger. Afterwards, the participants reported how happy they felt. Turns out, giving to others led to a significant happiness boost, whereas spending on oneself didn’t move the needle.
“If you take $5 out of your pocket today, the science really does show that spending $5 on yourself doesn’t do much for you,” Norton says. “But spending that $5 on somebody else is more likely to increase your happiness.”
Take a scarf. If you buy one for yourself, it’s just another thing you don’t necessarily need. But if you buy a scarf for someone else, “you’ve shown them that they’re important to you,” Norton says. Either way, it’s just a scarf. “But it can either be a throwaway object or something that enhances a relationship between two people,” he says.
So, there’s evidence that generosity promotes happiness, but the process of shopping, wrapping and schlepping (搬) gifts can be tiresome — or even extremely annoying considering all of our day-to-day demands and other holiday stressors.
Studies also show when people are given something they are more likely to give back. Reciprocity (互惠) is a foundation of good relationships and when we surround ourselves with generous people, we tend to feel the same. Feeling that spirit of giving and the connection it can bring is what the holidays are all about.
1. Why does the author mention his own experience in paragraph 1?| A．To make a prediction. | B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To present a reason. | D．To clarify a concept. |
| A．By listing data. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By making comments. | D．By telling personal experiences. |
| A．It’s difficult and expensive. | B．It happens frequently. |
| C．It’s not valued by others. | D．It requires much effort. |
| A．It is not worth the effort. |
| B．It is a must to enhance a relationship. |
| C．It brings about emotional benefits. |
| D．It gains popularity during holidays. |
8 . Paris with My Grandmother
Stood by her stove, watching her cook, I’d asked Nan if she had any regrets. She’d surprised me by saying instantly, “I always wish I’d gone to Paris.” It was the way she made it sound like an impossibility. It was as if the fact that she’d not gone there with Granddad meant she would never go.
As this day approached, I became increasingly anxious. Besides worries about something going wrong or an emergency of some sort, I was concerned about how it would be for just the two of us to be together for 60 hours straight. Although we often talked with an ease and enthusiasm that delighted us both, our conversations didn’t always catch light.
We spent the afternoon wandering the streets and leisurely taking coffee. After dinner, we walked until a lamplit square brought us to a stop. We ordered drinks and sat chatting, watching the night’s crowd stroll by.
Seated with our drinks, Nan said finally, “Your Granddad would have loved Paris.”
So there in Paris, I sat quietly before a stream of images of my young grandfather, and learned how, half a century before, my Nan had been transformed by love.
| A．Paris is a city you must walk in |
| B．But how would we travel together |
| C．The silences were long and comfortable |
| D．The Paris of her imagination came to life |
| E．That was what made me decide to take her |
| F．Then she led the conversation further backwards |
| G．And when had we ever spent longer than a few hours alone |
9 . 每年的 12 月 5日是国际志愿者日(International Volunteer Day)。作为校志愿者协会(School Volunteer Association)主席，请你用英语在志愿者日发表国旗下讲话，内容包括：
1. 向校志愿者表示感谢；
2. 志愿服务的好处；
3. 发出呼吁。
注意: 1. 词数 80 左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear teachers and schoolmates,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
One of my favorite possessions is a little red can. It sits among my collections, looking somewhat old and out of place. But this can is special. It has a history. It was dear to me when I was younger, but mean even more to me now.
I’ve always loved to visit my grandparents in Cleburne, Texas, and as anyone in the family can tell you, there is always a gathering around the dining room table for meals and conversations so that we can keep in touch closely. It is important to keep in touch with the family members since we are busy with our own business, so my family members keep the tradition to have the gathering every month. We enjoy the moment when all of us meet in a place and communication helps us to solve the problem of isolation. As the first grandbaby, though, I was at a slight disadvantage. When I sat in the dining chair, only my nose could reach the table. Cleburne is a small town with a small population, and the phone book could only lift me an inch. So, Grandma and Grandpa came up with the idea of the little red can.
It was about ten inches high, made of tin, and painted a glorious shiny red. It worked perfectly, enabling me to bang away on the table with my little spoon and cup as I tried to keep up with the joyful talks around the table. After I finished a meal, I was placed on the floor, and the can was opened, and all sorts of surprises kept me busy while the adults visited. The can was full of lovely dolls which attracted little girls like me greatly. Besides, there were fresh and novel items that were mysterious to me and left me to explore.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Pretty soon, other grandbabies started to arrive, and each of them had their own turn on the little red can. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Decades later, Grandma proudly pulled out the little red can again when I traveled to Cleburne with my daughter. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
