Alice’s mother died when Alice was five years old. Alice, who grew up to be my mother, told me that after her mother’s death her family was too poor to even afford to give her a doll.
In December 2012, I had a job at a local bank. One afternoon, we were decorating the tree in the bank lobby(大厅). One of my customers approached me with her beautiful handmade dolls. I decided to get one for my daughter, Katie, who was almost five years old. Then I had an idea. I asked my customer if she could make me a special doll for my mother—one with gray hair and spectacles(眼镜): a grandmother doll. And she gladly agreed.
A friend had told me that his dad who played Santa Claus would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home to deliver my Katie her presents, so I made some special arrangements.
Christmas Day arrived and at the planned time; so did Santa Claus. Katie was surprised that Santa had come to see her at her own house. As Santa turned to leave, he looked once more into his bag and found one more gift. As he asked who Alice was, my mother, surprised at her name being called, indicated that she in fact was Alice. Santa handed her the gift, with a message card that read:
For Alice:
I was cleaning out my sleigh(雪橇) before my trip this year and came across this package that was supposed to be delivered on December 25,1953. The present inside has aged, but I felt that you might still wish to have it. Many apologies for the lateness of the gift.
Love,
Santa Claus
My mother’s reaction was one of the most deeply emotional scenes I have ever seen. She couldn’t speak but only held the doll she had waited fifty-nine years to receive as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. That doll, given by “Santa”, made my mother the happiest “child” that Christmas.【改编】Why couldn’t the writer’s mother have a doll when young ?_________.
| A．Santa Clause forgot to send the doll to her |
| B．her daughter couldn’t make a doll by herself |
| C．her parents left the doll in the Santa Clause’s sleigh |
| D．her family was badly off when she was a child |
【改编】What can be inferred from the passage ?__________.
| A．the writer’s father played the Father Christmas |
| B．the writer’s mother was already in her sixties when she received the doll |
| C．the writer urged one of her friends to make the doll for her mother |
| D．the Santa Clause was too careless to deliver the doll on time |
The best title for this passage could be __________.
| A．A Doll from Santa |
| B．An unforgettable Christmas |
| C．A considerate daughter |
| D．A help from Santa Claus |
Back in the early 1900s, American physician Byron Robinson wrote a book proposing an interesting theory: humans actually have two brains --- one in our heads and the other in our stomachs, and the two “communicate” all the time. Interestingly, in Chinese culture, thoughts are also related to the belly in phrases and idioms like fugao (腹稿, a draft), manfu jinglun (满腹经纶, a bellyful of ideas), and yiduzi weiqu (一肚子委屈, a bellyful of complaints).
This may sound a little ridiculous at first. But try to think of a time when you were extremely nervous. Chances are that you also felt uncomfortable in your stomach, didn’t you? This is probably why people use the idiom “butterflies in one’s stomach” to refer to being nervous.
Now scientists from Canada and the US have found that our guts (肠道), if not as bright as our actual brains, are much more than just where we digest the food we eat. They also affect our emotions and even behavior, all thanks to the bacteria in them, reported Scientific American.
In the study, scientists fed timid mice stomach bacteria from mice that were more active and daring. After eating the bacteria, the timid mice grew more energetic and fearless. Sure enough, when bold mice got the bacteria from timid ones, they became more anxious. The mice’s behavior also changed when scientists disturbed the bacteria in their guts by changing their diets and feeding them antibiotics (抗生素).
“If something goes wrong in the gut, that change is reflected in the brain,” Emeran Mayer, a professor at University of California, Los Angeles, told The Huffington Post.
The brain-and-gut connection also works in the opposite way. Scientists studied children with autism (自闭症) --- a mental illness that makes people unable to socialize with others --- and found that they also have a lot of stomach problems. They have fewer types of stomach bacteria and lower totals of a few key bacteria than healthy children.
This research raises the possibility that scientists could treat patients with brain problems simply by feeding them the right food, which would be much more efficient than providing psychological therapy (疗法).
According to CBC News, you can get “good” bacteria that lift your spirits from food like yogurt while “bad” bacteria are usually in high fat and high sugar foods.What is the author’s attitude toward Byron Robinson’s theory of two human brains?
| A．Unsatisfied. | B．Doubtful. | C．Positive. | D．Negative. |
The author mentioned the idiom “butterflies in one’s stomach” in the second paragraph to _____.
| A．describe the symptoms of nervousness |
| B．suggest a connection between our stomach and our emotions |
| C．hint at the danger of nervous feelings |
| D．encourage people to calm down and relax |
What’s the closest meaning of the underlined word “bold” in Paragraph 4?
| A．anxious | B．fearless | C．energetic | D．sharp |
According to the article, ______.
| A．people with mental illnesses are more likely to have stomach problems |
| B．the use of antibiotics can turn timid mice into daring ones |
| C．timid mice have fewer types of stomach bacteria than daring mice |
| D．people must consider changing their diets when they feel anxious |
We can infer from the article that______.
| A．psychological therapy has never worked before for autistic children |
| B．yogurt is the best solution for anxiety problems |
| C．high fat and high sugar foods are responsible for many mental diseases |
| D．diet changes can lead to mood changes |
“You are going abroad and will live there? Oh, wonderful! You are so lucky.”
Perhaps your family and friends said similar things to you when you left home. But is it true all the time? Is your life in the new country always wonderful and exciting?
Specialists say that it isn’t that easy to get used to life in a new culture. “Culture shock” (冲击) is the term specialists use when talking about the feelings that people have in a new environment. “There are three stages of culture shock,” say the specialists. In the first stage, the newcomers like their new environment. Then, when the fresh experience dies, they begin to hate the city, the country, the people, and everything else. In the last stage, the newcomers adapt to their surroundings and finally enjoy their life there.
Culture shock arises from many obvious factors. The weather may be unpleasant. The customs may be different. The public service systems such as the telephone, post office, or transportation may be difficult to work out. Even the simplest things become headaches. Still worse, the language may be difficult.
Who feels culture shock? Everyone does in this way or that. But culture shock surprises most people. Very often the people having the worst culture shock are those who never had any difficulties in their home countries and were successful in their community. Coming to a new country, these people find they do not have the same established positions. They find themselves without a role, almost without an identity. They have to build a new selfimage.
Culture shock leads to a feeling of disorientation (迷惘). This feeling may be homesickness. When homesick, people feel like staying inside all the time. They want to protect themselves from the strange environment, and create and escape inside their room for a sense of security. This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for the short term, but it does nothing to make the person familiar with the culture. Getting to know the new environment and gaining experience are the long term solutions to the problem of culture shock.When people move to a new country, they ________.
| A．find their new life always wonderful and exciting. |
| B．dislike the new surroundings from the beginning. |
| C．quickly get accustomed to the new culture there. |
| D．will get used to the new life with certain difficulty. |
Based on the passage, which of the following results from culture shock?
| A．weather conditions and customs |
| B．public service and transportation |
| C．feeling homesick and disoriented |
| D．language communication issues |
According to the passage, the more successful you are at home, ________.
| A．the fewer difficulties you will meet with abroad |
| B．the more problems you may have to face abroad |
| C．the greater success you are likely to make abroad |
| D．the less homesick you will eventually feel abroad |
Which of the following statements is correct according to the passage?
| A．Cultural shock affects and surprises those who live in a new culture. |
| B．A new culture makes everything difficult except the simplest things. |
| C．Since culture shock is painful, we can never get over it completely. |
| D．Escaping by staying inside does solve the problem of culture shock. |
Once, there was a woman who had so many problems, so many worries, so many troubles… that at times she felt she had more troubles than anyone else in the world!
She was depressed. She thought she could never overcome her troubles, so she decided to end her life. That night she went to sleep early and she planned to commit suicide the next morning. But that night she had a dream…
She found herself in a large cave, surrounded by gray bundles (包袱) of all shapes and sizes. Walking toward her was a woman with flowing long white hair.
“Who are you?” asked the dreamer, “and what is this place?”
“This is the cave of bundles of troubles and I am the keeper of the cave.”
“Bundles of troubles?”
“Yes,” the keeper explained, “each person who walks on the earth carries a bundle of troubles on their left shoulder.” The dreamer turned to look and there was a gray bundle on her left shoulder—it had been there all the time and she never noticed!
“If you wish,” the keeper continued,” you can take your bundle down and exchange it for another.”
“Really?” The woman lowered the bundle from her left shoulder. Oh, it felt so good to put it down. Then she picked up a beautiful bundle.
The keeper said, “Why don’t you open it and look inside?”
So the woman opened it and looked inside. “But these are the same troubles I brought here!”
The keeper of the cave smiled softly and nodded. “That’s usually what happens, but do not despair, for there is another bundle on your right shoulder that should help lighten your load.”
The woman turned and saw another bundle on her right shoulder. It had been there all the time and she never noticed! The woman took it down and opened it. Inside were her talents, her gifts, her hopes and opportunities. The woman felt her heart filled with joy and she looked up to thank the keeper of the cave, but she was gone; all were gone. And she found herself sitting up in her own bed with the morning sun streaming through the window, shining on her face.Why did the woman decide to end her life?
| A．Because there were two gray bundles on her shoulders. |
| B．Because she always had bad dreams at night. |
| C．Because the keeper of the cave told her to do so. |
| D．Because she felt she had too many troubles to overcome. |
According to the keeper of the cave, _____ .
| A．there were good things such as talents in beautiful bundles |
| B．each person carries a bundle on each shoulder |
| C．different bundles contain different troubles |
| D．it is impossible for people to take their bundles down from their shoulders |
What did the woman feel when she opened the bundle on her right shoulder?
| A．Delighted. | B．Moved. | C．Depressed. | D．Confused. |
The story of the woman is to show that _____ .
| A．dreaming a dream can save people’s life |
| B．the bundles on our shoulders can make us happy |
| C．attitude towards life plays an important role in people’s life |
| D．we must ignore the troubles in life |
What do you think happened to the woman when she woke up?
| A．She still felt depressed. |
| B．She committed suicide. |
| C．She looked for the keeper of the cave. |
| D．She didn’t want to end her life any more. |
I was walking down a dimly (昏暗) lit street late one evening when I heard coming from behind bushes. , I slowed down to listen and panicked when I realized that what I was hearing were the sounds of a struggle. Only yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked.
Should I get ?
I was frightened for my own safety, and I hated for having suddenly decided to take a(n) route home that night. “What if I’m hurt too? Shouldn't I just run to the nearest phone and call the police? Although it felt like a century, my thought process had only seconds. But already the cries were growing .
I knew I had to act fast. “How could I walk away from this?” I asked myself.
“No”, I finally resolved (决心), I could not turn my on the fate of this unknown woman, it means my own life.
I am not a brave man, nor am I . I don't know where I found the moral (道德) courage and physical strength, but I had finally decided to help the girl, I became suddenly changed.
I ran behind the bushes and the attacker off the woman. Struggling, we fell to the ground, we fought for a few minutes until the man jumped up and escaped.
heavily, I got to my feet and the girl, who was sobbing behind a tree. In the darkness, I could certainly her trembling shock. Not wanting to frighten her any further, I at first spoke to her from a .
“It’s OK,” I said soothingly. “The man ran away. You’re safe now.”
There was a long pause and then I heard the words, uttered (说) in .
“Dad, is that you?”
And then, from behind the tree, my youngest daughter, Katherine.
God has a way of allowing us to be in the right place at the right time.
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Her frozen fingers touched the flame trying to feel alive. She could feel the warmth but it was a cold heat, as if the candle was rejecting her.
Her arms turned red because of the cold, her short sleeved shirt not giving her enough warmth. The winter air grabbed(抓住) at her arms, causing her pain, but she didn’t mind. She knew she should put her jacket on, it was winter in Connecticut, but that would be giving up. Up here, in this tree she felt safe.
She looked at the candle, surrounded by hardening wax(蜡). She placed her fingers gently on the warm green wax. This candle was a reminder of her life inside that house, a life she would have to return to eventually.
As a child, she had gotten this candle. She spent all she had on it. The beautiful crystal box （水晶盒）had caught her eye. Five whole nickels（五分币） had brought her that candle.
She gave it to her mother for Mother’s Day. Her mother had managed a smile and put it on a shelf. “It’s very pretty, honey! I will put it right here.” Since then that candle had never been moved, never been lighted, sitting dusty on a cluttered shelf that no one could see. Later on, her parents got divorced.
By now the candle was colder than the air and the darkness was complete. The snow on the ground made the night lighter and less satisfying than it had been before the first snowfall. She liked the darkness because she felt safe in it. From the glances of her friends who liked the girl she used to be. From the boys who could never figure out who she was. From her guidance counselor(顾问) whose endless worried looks never made her feel any better.
No one was outside at this time of night. She was alone in the world, just how she liked it. Just as she was about to lean back against the branch, she heard a sound.
She heard footsteps breaking the ice in the snow, heading toward her. He was making his way toward the white fence at the edge of the building, right against the road. Normally she would have ignored this person and stayed on her branch faraway from human contact, but this figure had something with him. He trudged(吃力地走) toward the white fence carrying a case. The figure reached the fence, opened the case and took out a shiny object.
She took her eyes off this figure only long enough to climb down the tree to get a better view of him. She reached the bottom and saw that the person had turned to face the street, sitting on the white fence that she and her friends once sat on. She stepped carefully on the ice, making her way toward him.
And then a beautiful sound of music came from the shiny object. She stopped and listened to it. She started walking towards the guy again. Just as she was about to step onto the snow banks, she slipped on the ice crashing to the ground. The figure turned around in surprise and a sudden recognition fell upon them both.The girl was hiding in the tree at deep night to ______.
| A．keep herself from the cold |
| B．wait for the boy to come |
| C．want to be left alone |
| D．seek safety from any hurt |
From the story, we can learn that ______.
| A．the girl suffered a lot in her life |
| B．the girl’s parents divorced because of her |
| C．teachers and friends treated the girl badly |
| D．the girl used to stay in the tree when feeling sad |
The underlined word “it” in the story refers to ______.
| A．leaning back against the branch |
| B．being alone in the world |
| C．not being disturbed at night |
| D．it being dark with snow around |
From the end of the story, it can be known that the girl _______.
| A．knew the person |
| B．knew what the object was |
| C．realized her wishes |
| D．would never feel alone any more |
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