1 . One-year-old Tallulah turned purple and stopped moving after the sweet became stuck in her throat. Her mum Leigh-Anne said the drama began during a visit to her grandma’s house when her grandparents gave her older kids some sweets.
“Then at about 4:45 pm, Tallulah started to choke—we all went into a panic.”
“It seemed like it went on for ages. Not one of us knew what to do.”
“I rang an ambulance while my grandma and granddad tried to get the sweet to come up.”
“Tallulah was panicking at first but then she started to go purple—she almost had no oxygen left in her.”
With her daughter limp (无力的) and time running out, Leigh—Anne knew she couldn’t afford to wait for the ambulance to arrive.
“The only thing I could think was to go out into the street.” She said.
“I rushed out and screamed for someone to help while my grandma rushed out crying with Tallulah.”
At exactly the moment, Caitlin, who is studying public services at Redcar College, was passing by Queen Street. She said, “I was waiting to go to work when I heard someone screaming for help, so I ran straight over.”
The 17-year-old girl added, “Something just clicked and I went into auto mode. The little girl was completely limp, so I checked her airways and tilted (使倾斜) her over and started hitting her back. I turned her round and tapped on her chest, then after what felt like forever she coughed up the sweet and spat it out.
As soon as she started crying I felt a huge relief. I was just so pleased I was able to help.”
Caitlin was taught her lifesaving skills when she joined the Army Cadets four years ago.
1. When did Tallulah get choked?| A．While eating sweets. | B．While enjoying a drama. |
| C．While having a meal. | D．While taking some medicine. |
| A．To buy some needed tools. | B．To search for timely help. |
| C．To get a breath of fresh air. | D．To wait for the ambulance to arrive. |
| A．Brave and selfless. | B．Kind and energetic. |
| C．Determined and generous. | D．Quick-thinking and helpful. |
| A．First aid skill sounds important. | B．Screaming for help makes sense. |
| C．Eating sweets endangers baby girl. | D．Heroic teenager saves baby girl’s life. |
2 . Are You a Prisoner of Perfection?
Do you struggle for a goal that is beyond your reach?
Shame and fear are often the hidden drivers of perfectionism. We believe that if we can fashion a perfectly polished personality, flash our intelligence, and perfect our humour, then no one can hurt us with criticism and we’ll win respect and approval.
Perfectionism keeps us leaning toward the future. We’re constantly evaluating ourselves in order to do better.
Being human, perfection is impossible.
| A．Do you hold an idealized vision that is impossible to realize? |
| B．A cure to perfectionism is to make room for our human shortcomings. |
| C．Do you fear that others will be horrified by what you judge about yourself? |
| D．The addiction to staying perfect protects us from any sign of being imperfect. |
| E．There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do our best and self-correcting along the way. |
| F．People who are addicted to perfection are often isolated, even if they seem outgoing and popular. |
| G．By accepting ourselves as we are and doing our best, we begin to rid the shame that drives perfectionism. |
3 . On the night of December 8, 1992, when he was standing in a parking lot talking to friends, Tracy March jumped to the top of a car, as he had done a hundred times before. This time, though, Tracy lost his balance. His head struck the ground, hard.
All night, Cory, Tracy’s mother, stood next to her son, who was lying in a hospital bed, his brown eyes fixed in a lifeless stare. She remembered that Tracy had once mentioned organ donation. Maybe I can spare another family this pain, she thought. When the time came, she and her husband Bill signed the forms permitting his organs to be donated.
Tracy was declared dead the next day. Twenty-four hours later, in a Boston hospital, Tracy’s liver was made part of my husband, David, who was suffering from a hopeless liver disease.
Months later, we learned from the local organ bank that the donor’s parents wished desperately to meet someone who had gained life through the gift from their son. A meeting was arranged by the organ bank to bring together two families linked by the most bittersweet ties imaginable.
The meeting was risky, but worth it. We talked for 3 hours. They showed us a picture of Tracy. We learned how he had lived and died. We learned something about Bill and Cory too.
For the Marches, seeing David and knowing he was well seemed to ease their suffering. I’ll never forget seeing David’s tall figure stopped over Cory, her arms around his waist, as a mother would hug a son. For a long time they held each other tight. It was hard to know if she was saying hello or good-bye. Maybe she was saying both.
1. We learn from the passage that Tracy died _______.| A．of brain damage | B．on December 8, 1992 |
| C．24 hours after he fell off the roof of a car | D．in a car crash |
| A．Tracy told them to do so just before he died |
| B．they wanted to save others the pain of seeing dear one die |
| C．David’s life could continue in a meaningful way |
| D．they knew David was suffering from a hopeless liver disease |
| A．they saw that David looked very much like their son |
| B．they now knew for sure they had done the right thing |
| C．they now had someone to share their memories of Tracy |
| D．they saw that David had regained health with Tracy’s liver |
4 . Emma and Ryan, a married couple, were driving to a friend’s house when Emma turned to Ryan and asked, “Would you like to stop for lunch?”
Ryan replied, “No, I’m not hungry yet,” and continued driving. Meanwhile, Emma sat quietly fuming (十分恼火) in the passenger seat. Ryan could not understand why Emma was unhappy. He had thought she was asking if he was hungry, but in reality, Emma was telling him that she was hungry and wanted to stop for lunch.
Misunderstandings like this often occur between men and women, even among people from the same culture. Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at Georgetown University in the United States, has studied conversational rules.
In Emma and Ryan’s situation, Emma was making a request in the form of a question. Her style of talking is common for women. She needed Ryan to agree they were both hungry. So, Emma asked Ryan what he wanted. She was really telling Ryan what she wanted; however, Ryan did not understand this. If he had been hungry, he would have said something more direct, such as, “I’m hungry. Let’s have lunch.”
Tannen believes that most women grow up in a world where talk is used to express feelings. However, most men are raised differently and they tend to keep their feelings to themselves.
Tannen says, for men, talk is often used as a situation used outside the home to gain respect, to entertain and get attention, or to exchange information. This is why men communicate by making each other laugh, or talking about sport and work. These men do not always feel it is necessary to talk to feel close or to express their feelings. Women, on the other hand, are encouraged to speak about their feelings since this is a way to build relationships.
1. What can be inferred from Emma and Ryan’s story?| A．Emma didn’t like Ryan. |
| B．Ryan didn’t want to talk to Emma. |
| C．Ryan didn’t want to eat with Emma. |
| D．Emma wasn’t pleased with Ryan’s answer. |
| A．Different cultures. |
| B．Different characteristics. |
| C．Different ways of communicating. |
| D．Different educational background. |
| A．talk less about feelings |
| B．communicate more with others |
| C．are more likely to become angry |
| D．are better at building relationships |
| A．Why women like to express feelings |
| B．How men and women communicate |
| C．Different ways of supporting a child |
| D．Misunderstandings in social communication |
5 . You’ve seen news reports about people who need assistance after a natural disaster, or TV programs about how lonely and isolated older people can get. Maybe you’ve walked past people who are living on the streets.
Find what’s right for you.
Volunteering isn’t school.
After you’ve discovered what interests you, decide how much time you want to spend and what fits into your schedule.
Expand your mind.
Volunteering is a great way to learn new skills — from working as part of a team to setting and reaching goals.
Feel good.
Volunteering helps people feel they make a difference — that they do have the power to change things for the better. When people depend on you, it can change the way you look at yourself.
| A．It can give you a chance to discover what kinds of things you’re best at and enjoy most. |
| B．Instead of having the choices made for you, you’ve got to pick. |
| C．Doing something for others helps people to change the world. |
| D．So what can you do about any of those things? |
| E．You can feel proud of what you’ve achieved. |
| F．Find what fits your schedule. |
| G．Change things for the better. |
6 . “How are you” is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But “How are you?” is also a very unusual question. It's a question that often doesn't have an answer. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer “Fine.”, even if the person's friend isn't fine. The reason is that “How are you?” isn't really a question and “Fine.” isn't really an answer. They are simply other way of saying “Hello!” or “Hi!”.
Sometimes, people also don't say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks, “Do you agree?”, the other person might be thinking, “No, I disagree. I think you're wrong…”But it isn't very polite to disagree strongly, so the other person might say “I'm not sure…”. It's a nice way to say that you don't agree with someone.
People also don't say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says “I've to go now.” Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse,” Someone is at the door.” “Something is burning on the stove.” The excuses might be real, or it might not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk any more, but it isn't polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't hurt the other person.
When they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people often don't say exactly what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's also a part of the game of language.
1. When a person wants to disagree with someone, it is polite to say “ ”.| A．You're wrong. I disagree. | B．I'm not sure. |
| C．I'm sure I disagree. | D．No, I disagree. |
| A．giving an excuse |
| B．hurting someone's feeling |
| C．talking to a person at the door |
| D．going to another place |
| A．Always say what you mean. |
| B．Don't disagree with people. |
| C．Never say exactly what you're thinking. |
| D．Being polite is the best policy. |
7 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.
What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.
Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t
even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease(润滑剂) for social communication, says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. ＂Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,＂ he explains. ＂The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.＂
In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction(互动) with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. ＂It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,＂ says Dunn. ＂But interactions with peripheral(边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.＂
Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. ＂Small talk is the basis of good manners,＂ he says.
1. What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph?| A．Addiction to smartphones. |
| B．Inappropriate behaviours in public places. |
| C．Absence of communication between strangers. |
| D．Impatience with slow service. |
| A．Showing good manners. | B．Relating to other people. |
| C．Focusing on a topic. | D．Making business deals. |
| A．It improves family relationships. | B．It raises people’s confidence. |
| C．It matters as much as a formal talk. | D．It makes people feel good. |
| A．Conversation Counts | B．Ways of Making Small Talk |
| C．Benefits of Small Talk | D．Uncomfortable Silence |
8 . How to Be a Great Best Friend
Everyone wants to be a great best friend but doesn’t know how or where to start that perfect friendship. The following will help you.
Be your own best friend first.
Trust each other.
Learn to listen. Nobody likes a best friend who just talks and talks, but never listens. If you’re a chatterbox, try to develop good listening skills. Whenever your best friend says something, listen carefully and say something.
Care for your best friend. If your best friend is upset, ask them what’s wrong, They might not tell you straight away, but they should in the end.
Let your friend have other friends, too. If your best friend picks another friend over you, try to be friends with their friend too.
| A．Learn how to respect yourself. |
| B．Maybe you guys can be a group of friends! |
| C．Don’t interrupt while they’re talking to you. |
| D．Best friends are the most valuable friends you have. |
| E．If they don’t tell you, don’t get angry at them. |
| F．To be a great best friend really doesn’t take much. |
| G．Take time out of your day to appreciate the funny things in life. |
9 . In court at 9 o'clock. Apart from me there are a few old ladies who have come to the court and a class of 14-15 year-olds with their teacher.
9:05 Court starts. First case: Henry P., 47, divorced, charged with being drunk. He refused to leave a pub at closing time and caused a bit of damage when the police tried to arrest him. P. said he had had an argument with his boss and could not face going home to an empty flat.
9:50 Mrs F., 72, shoplifting (店内偷窃). Apparently Mrs F. had stolen a frozen chicken, which she had hidden under her hat (At this the school children burst out laughing and even the judges have difficulty keeping a straight face). The chicken was so cold that she fell unconscious, otherwise she would probably not have been caught. Mrs F, in tears, says she had not eaten meat for three weeks. It turns out that, although she has the old - age pension, she does not know about other forms of support.
10:30 Peter D., 19. D. stole, or rather “borrowed” a motorcycle, intending, he said, to give it back to the owner after trying it out. D.’s father is at sea and the mother is left to bring up four children, of whom Peter is the eldest, by herself.
11:00 Mrs A., 45, a doctor’s wife, president of a local ladies’ club, was caught leaving a fashion shop wearing two dresses, only one of which belonged to her. Admitting that she had wanted to steal the dress, she could not explain why.
1. What did Henry P. do when he was caught?| A．He damaged the pub. | B．He attacked the police. |
| C．He bothered other customers. | D．He quarreled with his boss. |
| A．Active. | B．Amusing. | C．Pitiful. | D．Ridiculous. |
| A．Henry P. | B．Mrs F. | C．Peter | D．Mrs A. |
10 . Two of the hardest things to accomplish in this world are to acquire wealth by honest effort and,having gained it,to learn how to use it properly.Recently I walked into the locker room of a rather well known golf club after finishing a round.It was in the late afternoon and most of the members had left for their homes.But a half-dozen or so men past middle age were still seated at tables talking aimlessly and drinking more than was good for them.These same men can be found there day after day,and,strangely enough,each one of these men had been a man of affairs and wealth, successful in business and respected in the community.If material prosperity were the chief necessity for happiness, then each one should have been happy.Yet,it seemed to me,something very important was missing,else（否则）there would not have been the constant effort to escape the realities of life through scotch and soda.They knew,each one of them,that their productivity had ceased（停止）.When a fruit tree ceases to bear its fruit,it is dying.And it is even so with man.
What is the answer to a long and happy existence in this world of ours?I think I found it long ago in a passage from the book of Genesis which caught my eye while I was looking through my Bible.The words were few,but they became memorably impressed on my mind.“In the sweat of the face shall you eat the bread.”
To me,that has been a challenge from my earliest recollections(memories).In fact,the battle of life,of existence,is a challenge to everyone.The immortal words of St.Paul,too,have been and always will be a great inspiration to me.At the end of the road I want to be able to feel that I have fought a good fight,I have finished the course,I have kept the faith.
1. The underlined sentence “In the sweat of the face shall you eat the bread” means “ ”.| A．Bread tastes delicious when sweat pours off your face |
| B．Bread comes from the sweat on your face |
| C．Failure is the mother of success |
| D．No pains,no gains |
| A．was a wealthy person in the community |
| B．was fond of associating with celebrities（名人） |
| C．held a positive attitude towards an active life |
| D．kept a secret of the reason why he was so impressed |
| A．To use wealth properly,eat,drink and be merry. |
| B．If you cease to struggle,you cease to live. |
| C．As life is but like a dream,a man is like a fruit tree. |
| D．Where there is a will,there is a way. |
