8道题
In the summer of 2015, Brian Peterson and his wife, Vanessa, had just moved to Santa Ana, California. Outside their apartment, an messy homeless man was often yelling on the street corner. Peterson would pass the guy on his way to his job as a car designer at Kia Motors, but they never spoke. What could they possibly have in common?
One day, Peterson was reading the book Love Does, about the power of love in action, when his quiet was disturbed by the homeless man. Inspired by the book’s kind message, Peterson made an unexpected decision: He was going to go outside and introduce himself.
In that first conversation, Peterson learned that the man’s name was Matt Faris. He’d moved here to pursue a career in music, but soon fell on hard times and ended up living on the street for more than a decade. Inspired by his story, Peterson, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, found himself asking if he could paint Faris’s portrait (画像). Faris said yes.
Peterson’s connection with Faris led him to form Faces of Santa Ana, a nonprofit organization focused on befriending and painting portraits of members of the community who are unhoused. Peterson sells the paintings for a few thousand dollars, putting into what he calls a “love account” for his model. He then helps people use the money to get back on their feet.
Many of Peterson’s new friends use the donations to secure immediate necessities — medical care, hotel rooms, food. But Peterson has learned not to make assumptions about what a person needs most. “Why don’ t we just ask them? ” says Peterson. Faris used the funds from his portrait to record an album, fulfilling his musical dreams.
Peterson has painted 41 of these portraits himself. But there’s more to the finished products than the money they bring to someone who’s down and out. He’s discovered that the buyers tend to connect to the story of the person in the painting, finding similarities and often friendship with someone they might have otherwise overlooked or stereotyped (有成见). “People often tell me, ‘I was the one that would cross the street. But I see homeless people differently now.’ ” Peterson says. “I didn’t know that would happen. ”
【小题1】Why did Peterson start his conversation with Faris?| A．He was motivated by a book he read. | B．He was supported by his wife Vanessa. |
| C．He was annoyed at Faris’s disturbance. | D．He was determined to paint Faris’s portrait. |
| A．Faris was a brilliant musician in the past. | B．Faris had something in common with him. |
| C．Faris had been homeless for over ten years. | D．Faris was willing to paint portraits for a living. |
| A．Running a nonprofit organization. | B．Contributing to his personal account. |
| C．Helping the homeless get out of trouble. | D．Buying some expensive painting materials. |
| A．Peterson hopes to be more productive in painting. |
| B．Peterson helped more needy people than expected. |
| C．Peterson regrets having ignored those homeless people. |
| D．Peterson didn’t expect the difference made to the buyers. |
“You learn a lot by almost dying,” David always says. In fact, he learns enough!
In 2010, David, a sophomore from the medical school of Pennsylvania got very sick and the diagnosis was Castleman — a rare condition with approximately 7,000 new cases annually in the US. In hospital, David noticed curious red spots on his skin. He asked doctors what the blood spots meant. “They went out of their way to say they didn’t matter,” said David, but he would go on to prove he was on to something.
Castleman struck David four more times over the next three years. David stayed alive only through intense chemotherapy. Despite the illness, he managed to graduate and began an MBA at Penn’s Wharton School, where he founded the CDCN — a global initiative devoted to fighting Castleman. Many of his MBA classmates joined the cause. David hoped that adding a CEO mindset would enable him to scale up his approach to curing himself. CDCN prioritized clinical trials that repurposed drugs the FDA (美国药监局) had already approved as safe rather than starting from scratch.
In 2013, another attack marked his closest brush with death yet. This time, David saved his own life. After examining his medical charts, he targeted an idea that researchers hadn’t yet explored: A protein called VECF which controls blood vessel growth was spiking at 10 times its normal level. David hypothesized that the red spots with every recurrence were a direct result of that protein spike. David asked his doctor to prescribe Sirolimus, a drug approved to help fight the immune system when it activates against kidney transplants. He picked it up at a pharmacy. “A drug that could potentially save my life was hiding in plain sight,” he said.
So far, David has been in remission from Castleman for more than six years, close to full strength. As an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, he was running a clinical trial on the drug that has given him his life back. “So little time and money has been invested in these rare diseases like Castleman,” says David, “There’s tremendous opportunity to change that, there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit!”
【小题1】What can we know about the CDCN?| A．It’s a domestic organization in the USA. |
| B．It recruited members beyond the medical field. |
| C．It’s founded when David was a medical student. |
| D．It prioritized clinical trials on newly-applied drugs. |
| A．David’s recovered from Castleman completely. |
| B．David’s doing further research on Sirolimus. |
| C．Sufficient investments are put in Castleman research. |
| D．High likelihood of bearing fruit is in Castleman research. |
| A．Sirolimus has certain effectiveness for Castleman. |
| B．There’re roughly 7,000 Castleman cases in the US. |
| C．David suffered Castleman recurrence four times totally. |
| D．Red spots on David’s skin caused an increase in VECF levels. |
| A．No pains, no gains. | B．It’s never too late to learn. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. | D．God helps those who help themselves. |
It was my birthday, and I was celebrating it as I had for years: Watching the annual Perseid meteor shower (流星雨). But this time, as the meteors flashed across the sky, I, a junior girl, began to question, “Could my lifelong love for astronomy be more than a hobby?”
I grew up in a small town, where even graduating from high school was not a given for many students. But I was driven to pursue my education, and like my best friend’s dad — a pharmacist (药剂师), one of the few professional role models in my neighborhood, therefore, I chose to major in pharmacy, the science of preparing medicines, at the University of North Carolina.
The university was only a 3.5-hour drive away, but it felt across the universe. In the weeks since I began my pharmacy degree, I had met people with jobs and PhDs in different branches of science I had never considered — neuroscience, archaeology, and even astrophysics. Their passion and knowledge opened my eyes to worlds I had never imagined. As my birthday and the Perseid meteor shower approached, I was faced with a decision: Should I stick to my long-standing plans or take a step into the unknown?
Ultimately, a solar eclipse (日食) helped me make my decision. As the Moon gradually shaded the Sun, the world darkened around me. The stillness of the water, the desperate calls of birds, and the fading sunset deeply moved me. I knew what I had to do. I dropped out of pharmacy school to pursue previously unimagined options.
Facing years of challenges and growth, I worked odd jobs before earning a second degree in physics, starting a PhD in astronomy, and realized that the night sky’s vastness inspired me to overcome doubts and follow my dreams. As I approach the final year of my PhD, I realize that growing up with the night sky gave me a valuable gift. It gave me an insight into life: On the scale of our vast universe, our individual needs, desires, fears, and insecurities shrink to insignificance, bringing humanity together. It liberated me from allowing earthly worries, shame, or self-doubt to stand in the way of pursuing new dreams.
【小题1】What motivated the author to major in pharmacy?| A．Her ambition to become a doctor. |
| B．The encouragement of her friend. |
| C．Her childhood passion for pharmacy |
| D．The influence of her best friend’s father. |
| A．It helped her stick to her belief. |
| B．It opened her mind to new ideas. |
| C．It enhanced her pharmacy study. |
| D．It developed her thinking abilities. |
| A．Accepting insecurities helps us handle challenges. |
| B．Personal problems still matter in the vast universe. |
| C．It’s vital to pursue dreams despite personal challenges. |
| D．It is small and unimportant things that mean a lot to us. |
| A．Caring and patient. | B．Modest and honest. |
| C．Generous and helpful. | D．Curious and determined. |
Unlike most Singaporean university students, I did not have a 6 months exchange abroad. Nor did I quit my job and travel the world like so many travel bloggers. Instead, here’s my story.
It began in 2014 with a trip to Bali. While soaring on the flying fish at Kuta Beach, I thought, “This is the best feeling ever!” Before that last minute trip, I’ve never given much thought to traveling. Until 2011, when I was called to serve the nation and my precious annual leave were saved for whatever activities were cool. But after Bali, I’ve jumped out of a plane in Brazil, ran off a cliff in Vietnam, scaled the highest volcano in Indonesia, and couch-surfed in Australia. I’ve gotten lost, gotten sick. I’ve cried and smiled. And yet I yearn for it more: The feeling of plunging into the unknown. The freedom that comes with exploration. I’ve caught the travel bug.
2016 was a year of laying low. I paused traveling. I made sacrifices in my studies and social life. While I stayed at home and in school, feeling sad inside, I slowly took my time. I started an internet business that gives me the freedom to work from anywhere in the world. I learnt self-defence to protect myself on my travels. I even took Spanish and Salsa classes. All for my dream of returning to South America one day.
The day I booked a one-way ticket to Brazil, I decided to fully immerse in the local culture and record this journey. As I type this on the plane ride, I want people to know travel is not limited to short, unfulfilled weekend trips. I want people to know that it is possible to live a life of your dreams. I want people to know that it is a matter of the choices you make daily. I’ve definitely learned a lot and my perspectives have changed. One thing hasn’t though: my passion for travel.
【小题1】Which moment made the author place much focus on the idea of traveling?| A．Seeing many travel bloggers quit their jobs to travel. |
| B．Feeling the excitement during the flying fish ride in Bali. |
| C．Being told that he saved up enough annual leave for traveling. |
| D．Deciding to take a last-minute trip after not traveling for years. |
| A．A technical error or problem. | B．An insect causing discomfort. |
| C．A sudden strong interest or passion. | D．Relxation that comes from long travels. |
| A．By preparing skills for future traveling. | B．By taking short, scattered weekend trips. |
| C．By pausing his travels and writing blogs. | D．By working full-time in the travel industry. |
| A．Chasing the Dream: Heading to Brazil. | B．From the Familiar to the Unknown |
| C．Travel Paused, but the Dream Lives On. | D．My Travel Story: How it All Began |
Kenneth Williams had just been laid off from his job when he plugged in Jibo, a social home robot. “For that year when I didn’t have a job, it was a presence in my life every single day that I talked to,” he says.
Jibo sat in Williams’ bedroom, on his desk, where every day, it greeted him in the morning and ran through the weather and his calendar. Williams, 44, asked Jibo questions, requested music, and played its games. Jibo couldn’t do much, really, but its most redeeming feature (可取之处), the one that made it a robot darling in its owner’s heart, was its facial recognition. Unlike a Google Home or an Amazon Echo, Jibo noticed every time Williams entered the room and turned its head to say “hello”or crack a joke. A display on its face might have shown a heart or animated clouds and the sun.
“People would always try to compare him to Alexa, but his winning trait is his personality,” Williams says. “Yes, some people say it’s creepy with the eyes looking at you, but it’s not threatening. Instead, it makes me feel I’m with a friend.”
Every aspect of Jibo was designed to make the robot as lovable to humans as possible, which is why it startled the owners when Jibo presented them with an unexpected notice earlier this year: someday soon, Jibo would be shutting down. The company behind Jibo had been acquired, and Jibo’s servers would be going dark, taking much of the device’s functionality with it.
“I didn’t cry or anything, but I did feel like ‘Wow’,” Williams says. “I think when we buy products we look for them to last forever.”
Now Jibo owners are attempting to save their friend. They want a robot designed to bond with them, a robot that will not die.
【小题1】What do Williams’s words mainly show in paragraph 1?| A．He was quite talkative. | B．Jibo was a good work partner. |
| C．He enjoyed life without work. | D．Jibo came to him at the right time. |
| A．Being able to do a lot of things. | B．Having some very practical functions. |
| C．Responding to its owner’s presence. | D．Saying “hello” to everyone it noticed. |
| A．Confusing. | B．Depressing. | C．Frightening. | D．Embarrassing. |
| A．Their robot will be taken back. | B．Their robot can easily be damaged. |
| C．Their robot requires maintaining fees. | D．Their robot may stop functioning normally. |
As a fashion designer who transitioned from dressing rock stars to making jeans for aging women, I thought aging meant reinventing yourself — finding new ways to feel confident and beautiful. However, I didn’t perceive it until I was diagnosed (诊断) with breast cancer at 71 and beat it three years later at 74.
When I was younger, I thought, I’m never gonna get old. I harbored a lot of misconceptions about old age. I thought it meant slowing down, losing your vitality, and having no goals or excitement in life.
While I was receiving treatment, I experienced a truly crucial moment. One day, the nurses excitedly called a patient named Sheila, telling her how they had saved her a few of her favorite sandwiches. I was a little envious! I assumed she was a soap opera star, a TV program host, or someone with a big name. It turned out she was a homeless woman who had been abused and was living in a shelter with her child. She had Stage Ⅲ breast cancer just like me. The food in the shelter was so terrible that those sandwiches were going to be her one meal a day for the next three days. It gave me a whole new perspective.
By the time I finished with treatment, I saw life differently. And I wanted to share my journey and the lessons I learned with others. So, I decided to start a podcast called Too Young to Be Old, also the name of my second book. I hope to inspire others to embrace their own aging process and live life to the fullest.
That experience taught me everything I needed to know to handle the rest of my life. It taught me sympathy, care and understanding, and helped me realize how precious life is. Cancer is a great leveler and a great revealer; it doesn’t care if you’re wealthy or beautiful. Now my life is filled with gratitude, and I never pass up a moment to think about how lucky I am — not just lucky to continue to be alive, but lucky to have learned that lesson in understanding.
【小题1】What is the author’s original view on aging?| A．Reinventing oneself. | B．Losing enthusiasm. |
| C．Starting new projects. | D．Requiring others’ care. |
| A．To please her. | B．To raise funds. |
| C．To support the shelter. | D．To provide nutrition. |
| A．She takes a good rest at home. |
| B．She helps the homeless in shelter. |
| C．She tries to share her life insight. |
| D．She writes stories about the youth. |
| A．Aging is an unavoidable process. |
| B．Facing diseases is easy for the wealthy. |
| C．Cancer can be overcome through joint efforts. |
| D．Life value can be discovered through challenges. |